Skip to ContentGo to accessibility page
OpenStax Logo
Physics

Problems

PhysicsProblems

Problems

3.1 Acceleration

12.

The driver of a sports car traveling at 10.0 m/s steps down hard on the accelerator for 5.0 s and the velocity increases to 30.0 m/s. What was the average acceleration of the car during the 5.0 s time interval?

  1. –1.0 × 102 m/s2
  2. –4.0 m/s2
  3. 4.0 m/s2
  4. 1.0 × 102 m/s2
13.

A girl rolls a basketball across a basketball court. The ball slowly decelerates at a rate of −0.20 m/s2. If the initial velocity was 2.0 m/s and the ball rolled to a stop at 5.0 sec after 12:00 p.m., at what time did she start the ball rolling?

  1. 0.1 seconds before noon
  2. 0.1 seconds after noon
  3. 5 seconds before noon
  4. 5 seconds after noon

3.2 Representing Acceleration with Equations and Graphs

14.

A swan on a lake gets airborne by flapping its wings and running on top of the water. If the swan must reach a velocity of 6.00 m/s to take off and it accelerates from rest at a constant rate of 0.350 m/s2, how far will it travel before becoming airborne?

  1. −8.60 m
  2. 8.60 m
  3. −51.4 m
  4. 51.4 m
15 .
A swimmer bounces straight up from a diving board and falls feet first into a pool. She starts with a velocity of 4.00 m/s and her takeoff point is 8 m above the pool. How long are her feet in the air?
  1. 0.408 s
  2. 0.816 s
  3. 1.34 s
  4. 1.75 s
  5. 1.28 s
PreviousNext
Order a print copy
Citation/Attribution
Reuse and redistribution of this content in digital or print format:
  • This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's prior written permission.
  • This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License, which means that you can reuse and modify the material only for noncommercial purposes, must attribute Texas Education Agency (TEA), and must distribute any derivative works under the same license. The original material is available at: https://www.texasgateway.org/book/tea-physics . Changes were made to the original material, including updates to art, structure, and other content updates.
  • Any commercial printing of this textbook, including using a local or custom printer, must be approved by OpenStax, and proper citation provided.
  • OpenStax-copyrighted images, activities, assessments, and similar components of this book are subject to the same licensing – CC-BY-NC-SA. They can be used for noncommercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use requires permission.
  • Permission requests: Anyone who intends to incorporate this content (including text, images, and other components) into large language models, use it in AI offerings, use it commercially (including in print), and/or has questions about another use case is welcome to complete our reuse request form.
Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/physics/pages/1-introduction

  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a noncommercial digital format, then for every page that includes OpenStax content, you must license the derivative work under the same CC-BY-NC-SA license as the original, and include on every digital page view the following attribution:

    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/physics/pages/1-introduction

Citation information

The information below includes the information needed to generate citations in most major styles (APA, MLA, etc.); you must reformat and organize the information as needed to fit the requirements of the style. Use the information below to generate a citation. We recommend using a citation tool such as this one.

© Jul 8, 2026 Texas Education Agency (TEA). The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo, and Rice University name, and Rice University logo trademarks, or wordmarks are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.