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Distance displacement speed and velocity - Exam Questions.docx

Built from the lesson script on 30 September 2026.

AQA GCSE PHYSICS · PAPER 2 · FOUNDATION & HIGHER

Exam Practice: Distance, displacement, speed and velocity

Distance, displacement, speed and velocity · Forces · Lesson 10 of 20 · 13 marks · 14 minutes

Name

Date

 

Instructions

• Answer all the questions.

• Write your answers in the spaces provided.

• The marks for each question are shown in brackets - use this as a guide to how much to write.

• The answers are on separate pages at the back. Attempt every question before you look at them.

• Answer all questions. Use the mark allocation as a guide to how much to write.

Question 1 CALCULATE (2 marks)

A runner travels at a steady speed of 3.0 m/s for 120 s. Calculate the distance travelled. Use the equation: distance travelled = speed × time

(Total for Question 1 = 2 marks)

Question 2 CALCULATE (3 marks)

A cyclist travels 1500 m in 5.0 minutes. Calculate the average speed in m/s.

(Total for Question 2 = 3 marks)

Question 3 EXPLAIN (2 marks)

Explain the difference between distance and displacement.

(Total for Question 3 = 2 marks)

Question 4 CALCULATE (3 marks)

A person walks 3 km east and then 4 km north. Calculate (a) the distance travelled (b) the magnitude of the displacement.

(Total for Question 4 = 3 marks)

Question 5 EXPLAIN (3 marks)

A car travels round a roundabout at a constant speed. Explain why its velocity is changing.

(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)

TOTAL FOR PAPER = 13 MARKS

 

Answers and mark scheme

Check your answer only once you have written one.

Question 1 (2 marks)

3.0 × 120 = 360 m

• Correct substitution 1 mark

• 360 m 1 mark

Question 2 (3 marks)

t = 300 s; v = 1500 ÷ 300 = 5.0 m/s

• Converts to 300 s 1 mark

• Correct substitution 1 mark

• 5.0 m/s 1 mark

Question 3 (2 marks)

Distance is how far an object moves (a scalar). Displacement is the straight-line distance from the start to the finish in a particular direction (a vector).

• Distance: how far, no direction 1 mark

• Displacement: straight line with direction 1 mark

Question 4 (3 marks)

(a) 7 km. (b) √(3² + 4²) = 5 km.

• 7 km 1 mark

• Pythagoras 1 mark

• 5 km 1 mark

Question 5 (3 marks)

Velocity is speed in a given direction. The car's direction keeps changing, so its velocity changes even though the speed is constant.

• Velocity is a vector 1 mark

• Direction changes 1 mark

• So velocity changes with constant speed 1 mark