Physics

Chapter – 3
MOTION IN A PLANE
Sample questions
MCQ
1) Motion in a plane is _____________
a) Motion in one dimension b) Motion in two dimensions
c) Motion in three dimensions d) both b) and c)
2) A scalar quantity is one that
a) can never take negative values
b) has magnitude as well as direction
c) does not vary from one point to another in space
d) has the same value for observers with different orientations of axes.
3) Which of the following conditions are sufficient and essential for a quantity to be a vector?
a) Magnitude and direction
b) Magnitude and addition, subtraction, multiplication by ordinary rules of algebra
c) Magnitude, direction, and addition, subtraction, multiplication and division by
vector laws
d) Magnitude, direction and combination of vectors by ordinary rules of algebra
4) The triangle law of addition and parallelogram law of addition are obeyed by
a) Vectors b) Scalars c) Both a and b d) None
5) If we multiply the vector by scalar then its magnitude changes scalar times and its direction
a) Also changes b) Remains same c) Both a and b d) None
6) The two vectors A and B are said to be equal only if they have
a) Same direction b) Same magnitude
c) Same direction and same magnitude d) None
7) Negative vector of a vector is having same
a) Same magnitude b) Opposite direction c) Both a and b d) None
8) Vectors lying in the same plane are called ————–
a) Coplanar vectors b) Equal vector
c) Unit Vector d) Displacement vector
9) Zero vector is also called as
a) Point vector b) Unit vector c) Null vector d) None
10) The vector having unit magnitude is called as
a) Unit vector b) Null vector c) Zero vector d) None
11) The unit vectors i, j, k which are along the X, Y and Z axes respectively are
a) Parallel to each other b) Perpendicular to each other
c) Both a and b d) none
12) Out of the following which is not a scalar quantity?
a) Time b) Volume c) Density d) velocity
13) If θ is the angle between two vectors, then the resultant vector is maximum, when value of
θ is
a) 0° b) 90°
c) 180° d) Same in all cases.
14) The vector addition is
a) Commutative b) Associative c) Both a and b d) None
15) Which of the following can be zero, when a particle is in motion for some time?
a) Distance b) Displacement
c) Speed d) None of these
16) Displacement vector does not depend on the
a) Direction of motion b) Actual path length c) Both a and b d) None of these
17) How many minimum number of vectors in different planes can be added to give zero
resultant?
a) 2 b) 3 c) 4 d) 5
18) Consider the quantities distance, displacement, speed, velocity, acceleration. Out of these,
the vector quantities are
a) distance, speed
b) displacement, velocity and acceleration
c) distance, displacement
d) speed, acceleration and velocity
19) The direction of velocity at any point on the path of an object is
a) Perpendicular to the path b) Parallel to the path
c) Tangential to the path d) None
20) A boy makes a displacement of 4 m due East from a point A and then makes displacement
of 3 m due south. His resultant displacement from A
a) 7 m b) 1 m c) 5 m d) 1.2 m
This can be easily done using triangle method of vector addition.
In the figure shown
AB = displacement along east
BC = displacement along south
then result displacement is given by the third side of ΔABC.
|⃗⃗⃗⃗⃗ | = √( ) ( ) = √( ) ( ) = √ =5m
thus, the boy has actually displaced by 5 m.
21) A particle is moving eastward with a velocity of 5 m s-1. In 10 seconds, the velocity
changes to 5 m s-1 northward. The average acceleration in this time is
a) zero b) 1/√2 m s-2 towards north
c) 1/√2 m s-2 towards north-east d) 1/√2 m s-2 towards north-west
Considering eastwards as positive x−axis and northwards as positive
y−axis, we can write the velocities as per the question as:
initial velocity of the particle ⃗⃗⃗ = 5 ̂ and the final velocity of the
particle ⃗⃗⃗ = 5 ̂
⃗⃗⃗ ⃗⃗⃗ ̂ ̂ ̂ ̂
So, average acceleration is given as, avg = = =
| avg| = √( ) ( ) = √ =
√
22) A body starts with a velocity (2 ̂ + 3 ̂ +11 ̂ ) m/s and moves with an acceleration (5 ̂ + 5 ̂
– 5 ̂ ) m/s2 . What is its velocity after 0.2 sec?
a) 7 ̂ + 8 ̂ + 6 ̂ b) 2 ̂ – 3 ̂ +11 ̂
c) 3 ̂ - 4 ̂ – 10 ̂ d) 3 ̂ + 4 ̂ +10 ̂
23) The position vector of a particle is given by = (3t2 ̂ + 4 t2 ̂ + 7 ̂ ) m at a given time t .
The net displacement of the particle after 10 s is
a) 500 m b) 400 m c) 300 m d) 700 m
24) The maximum range of a projectile fired with some initial velocity is found to be 1000m,
in the absence of wind and air resistance. The maximum height reached by this projectile
is
a) 250 m b) 500 m c) 1000 m d) 2000 m
25) A body is thrown from the ground with a velocity of 9.8 m s-1 making an angle of 30° with
the horizontal. It will hit the ground after a time
a) 3.0 s b) 2.0 s c) 1.5 s d) 1 s
26) Keeping the speed of projection constant, the angle of projection is increased from 0º to
90º. Then the horizontal range of the projectile
a) goes on increasing up to 90º
b) decreases up to 90º
c) increases up to 45º and decreases afterwards
d) decreases up to 45º and increases afterwards
27) Keeping the speed of projection constant, the angle of projection is increased from 0° to
90º. Then the maximum height of the projectile
a) goes on increasing up to 90º
b) decreases up to 90º
c) increases up to 45º and decreases afterwards
d) decreases up to 45º and increases afterwards
28) The path of one projectile as seen from another projectile is a ( if horizontal components of
velocities are equal )
a) straight line b) parabola c) hyperbola d) circle
29) Two particles are projected with same speed but at angles of projection (45º - θ) and (45º +
θ). Then their horizontal ranges are in the ratio of
a) 1 : 2 b) 2 : 1 c) 1 : 1 d) none of these
30) A stone is just dropped from the window of a train moving along a horizontal straight
track with uniform speed. The path of the stone is
a) a parabola for an observer standing by the side of the track
b) a horizontal straight line for an observer inside the train
c) both (a) & (b) are true
d) (a) is true but (b) is false
31) A bomb is dropped from an aeroplane flying horizontally with uniform speed. The path of
the bomb is
a) a vertical straight line for a stationary observer on the ground
b) a parabola for the pilot of the aeroplane
c) a vertical straight line for the pilot and parabola for a stationary observer on the
ground
d) a horizontal straight line for the pilot and parabola for a stationary observer on the
ground
32) A body is projected from a point with different angles of projections 200, 350, 450, 600
with the horizontal but with same initial speed. Their respective horizontal ranges are R1,
R2, R3 and R4. Identify the correct order in which the horizontal ranges are arranged in
increasing order
a) R1, R4, R2, R3 b) R2, R1, R4, R3 c) R1, R2, R4, R3 d) R4, R1, R2, R3
33) Two particles are projected from the same point with the same speed at different angles θ1
and θ2 to the horizontal. If their respective times of flights are T1 and T2 and horizontal
ranges are same then
A) θ1 + θ2 = 900 B) T1 = T2 tan θ1
C) T1 = T2 tan θ2 D) T1 sin θ2 = T2 sin θ1
a) A, B, D are correct b) A, C, D are correct
c) B, C, D are correct d) A, B, C are correct
34) A particle is projected in xy plane with y-axis along vertical, the point of projection is
origin. The equation of the path is y = √ x – x2, where y and x are in m. Then the speed
of projection in ms-1 is
a) 2 b) 3 c) 4 d) 32
35) The parabolic path of a projectile is represented by y = x – x2. Its angle of projection
√
is (g = 10 m s-2)
a) 300 b) 450 c) 600 d) 900
36) A body is projected at angle 300 to horizontal with a velocity 50 m s-1. Its time of flight is
a) 4 s b) 5 s c) 6 s d) 7 s
37) If a body is thrown with a speed of 19.6 m/s making an angle of 300 with the horizontal,
then the time of flight is
a) 1 s b) 2 s c) 2 √ s d) 5 s
38) A particle is projected with an initial velocity of 200 m/s in a direction making an angle of
300 with the vertical. The horizontal distance covered by the particle in 3 s is
a) 300 m b) 150 m c) 175 m d) 125 m
39) A body is projected at an angle of 30° with the horizontal with momentum P. At its
highest point the magnitude of the momentum is:
√
a) P b) P c) P d)
√
0
40) A cricket ball is hit for a six leaving the bat at an angle of 60 to the horizontal with kinetic
energy ‘k’. At the top, K.E. of the ball is
a) zero b) k c) d)
√
41) A missile is fired for maximum range with an initial velocity of 20 m s-1, the range of the
missile is (g = 10 m/s2)
a) 50 m b) 60 m c) 20 m d) 40 m
42) If the time of flight of a projectile is doubled, what happens to the maximum height
attained?
a) halved c) remains unchanged
c) doubled d) become four times
43) A boy can throw a stone up to a maximum height of 10 m. The maximum horizontal
distance that the boy can throw the same stone up to will be
a) 20 √ m b) 10 m c) 10 √ m d) 20 m
44) A particle is moving at uniform speed 2 m s–1 along a circle of radius 0.5 m. The
centripetal acceleration of particle is
a) 1m s-2 b) 2 m s-2 c) 4 m s-2 d) 8 m s-2
45) A stationary wheel starts rotating about its own axis at uniform angular acceleration
8rad/s2. The time taken by it to complete 77 rotations is
a) 5.5 sec b) 7 sec c) 11 sec d) 14 sec
46) A fly wheel is rotating about its own axis at an angular velocity 11 rad s–1, its angular
velocity in revolution per minute is
a) 105 b) 210 c) 315 d) 420
47) A point size body is moving along a circle at an angular velocity 2.8 rad s-1. If centripetal
acceleration of body is 7 m s-2 then its speed is
a) 1.25 m s-1 b) 2.5 m s-1 c) 3.5 m s-1 d) 7 m s-1
48) An aircraft executes horizontal loop of radius 1 km with steady speed of 900 km/h. The
ratio of centripetal acceleration with acceleration due to gravity is
a) 6.0 b) 6.4 c) 5 d) 7
49) The length of minute hand in a pendulum clock is 10 cm the speed of tip of the hand is (in
m/s)
a) b) c) d)
50) An insect trapped in a circular groove of radius 12 cm moves along the groove steadily
and complete 7 revolutions in 100 seconds. The linear speed of the motion in cm/s
a) 5.3 b) 4 c) 3 d) 5

DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS
1) Explain the position vector and displacement vector in two dimensions.

Diagram ...................( ½ m)
=xî+yĵ ...................( ½ m)

Diagram ...................(½ m)
= (x’ î + y’ ĵ) – (x î + y ĵ) = Δx î+ Δy ĵ ...................( ½ m)
2) State triangle law of vectors. Mention any two properties/laws that the vectors obey.
If two vectors form the two sides of the triangle added in a particular order by head to
tail method, the third side or closing side of the triangle taken reverse order represent the
resultant vector. ...................(1 m)
Triangle law and parallelogram law or Commutative law and associative law .....(1 m)
3) The position of a particle is given by = 3.0 t ̂ + 2.0 t2 ̂ + 5.0 ̂ where t is in seconds and
the coefficients have proper units for to be in metres. Find (t) and (t) of the particle.
⃗
velocity = ⃗ = = 3 ̂ + 4 t ̂ m/s ...................(1 m)
⃗
Acceleration = ⃗ = = 4 ̂ m/s2 ...................(1 m)

4) The position of a particle is given by = 3.0 t2 ̂ + 2.0 t3 ̂ + 5.0 ̂ where t is in seconds and
the coefficients have proper units for to be in metres. Find ⃗ (t) and (t) of the particle.

5) Express average velocity vector and instantaneous velocity vector for two dimensional
motion in a component form.
Average velocity: ⃗̅ = ̂+ ̂ = ̅x ̂ + ̅y ̂
Instantaneous velocity: ⃗ = ( ̂+ ̂) = ̂+ ̂ = vx ̂ + v y ̂

6) Express average acceleration vector and instantaneous acceleration vector for two
dimensional motion in a component form.
Average acceleration: ⃗̅ = ̂+ ̂ = ̅x ̂ + ̅y ̂
Instantaneous velocity: ⃗ = ( ̂+ ̂) = ̂+ ̂ = ax ̂ + ay ̂

7) What is the angle between the velocity and the acceleration of an object in one
dimensional motion?
0o or 180o

8) What is the angle between the velocity and the acceleration of an object in two
dimensional motion?
Between 0o and 180o

9) State parallelogram law of vectors. Find the magnitude and direction of the resultant of
two vectors ⃗ and ⃗ in terms of their magnitudes and angle θ between them using
parallelogram law of vectors. Obtain the relation of law of sines.
If two vectors acting at a point are represented in magnitude and direction by the two
adjacent sides of a parallelogram, then their resultant is represented in magnitude and
direction by the diagonal passing through the common tail of the two vectors. ...........(1 m)

Diagram with explanation...................(1 m)

⃗ =⃗ +⃗
SN is normal to OP and PM is normal to OS.
From the geometry of the figure,
 OS2 = ON2 + SN2 ..................(½ m)
but ON = OP + PN = A + B cos θ, SN = B sin θ ..................(½ m)
OS2 = (A + B cos θ)2 + (B sin θ)2
or, R2 = A2 + B2 + 2AB cos θ
R=√ ..................(½ m)
tanα = = ..................(½ m)
Law of sines derivation ...................(1 m)

10) Explain the resolution of a vector in a plane. Express the equations representing magnitude
and direction.

Diagram with explanation .........................(½ m)

⃗ = Ax î + Ay ĵ ..................(½ m)
Ax = A cos θ; Ay = A sin θ
Ax2+ Ay 2= A2 cos2 θ+A2 sin2 θ = A2

A=√ ..................(½ m)
And tan θ =  θ = tan-1( ) ..................(½ m)

11) Rain is falling vertically with a speed of 35 m s–1. Wind starts blowing after sometime with
a speed of 12 m s–1 in east to west direction. Find the magnitude of the resultant speed. In
which direction should a boy waiting at a bus stop hold his umbrella?
Resultant speed, v = √( ) ( ) = √( ) ( ) = 37 m/s ...............(1 m)
tanθ = = = 0.343 .......................(1 m)
θ ≈ 19°. (towards east) ...................(½ m)

Diagram..............(½ m)

12) A particle starts from origin at t = 0 with a velocity 5.0 î m s-1 and moves in x-y plane
under action of a force which produces a constant acceleration of (3.0 î + 2.0 ĵ) m s-2. (a)
What is the y-coordinate of the particle at the instant its x-coordinate is 84 m? (b) What is
the speed of the particle at this time?
2
o(t ) = ⃗ t + ½ t
= 5 î t + (1/2) (3 î+ 2 ĵ) t2
= (5 t +1.5 t2) î +1 t2 ĵ ...................(1 m)
Given x(t) = 84 m. Therefore,
x (t) = 5 t + 1.5 t2= 84 m  5 t + 1.5 t2 = 84 ⇒ t = 6 s
y (t) = + 1 t2 = 1 (6)2 = 36 m ...................(1 m)
⃗
Now, the velocity, ⃗ = = (5 + 3 t) î + 2 t ĵ
At t = 6 s, ⃗ = 23 î + 12 ĵ; Speed = ǀ⃗ ǀ = √ ≈ 26 m s−1 ...................(1 m)
13) A motorboat is racing towards north at 25 km/h and the water current in that region is
10km/h in the direction of 60° east of south. Find the resultant velocity of the boat. Draw a
vector diagram representing these velocity vectors.

14) What is a projectile? Give two examples.

An object that is in flight after being thrown or projected is called a projectile.
Such a projectile might be a football, a cricket ball, a baseball or any other object.

15) Define time of flight and range of a projectile

The time taken for the projectile to complete its trajectory or time taken by the
projectile to hit the ground is called time of flight.
Range of a projectile is the horizontal distance between the point of projection and the
point where the projectile hits the ground/reaches the same level.

16) Derive the equation of motion for a particle thrown at an oblique angle θ with respect to
the horizontal direction. Hence, prove that the path of the projectile is parabola.
The motion of a projectile may be thought of as the result of two separate,
simultaneously occurring components of motions. One component is along a horizontal
direction without any acceleration and the other along the vertical direction with constant
acceleration due to the force of gravity.
Let us assume that the air resistance has negligible effect on the motion of the projectile.
Suppose that the projectile is launched with velocity u that makes an angle θ o with the x-
axis.
= ax î+ ay ĵ  ax = 0 & ay = - g
⃗ = ux î + uy ĵ  ux = u cosθo & uy= u sinθo
At time t
From, vx = ux + axt, we get vx = ux = u cosθo
From, vy = uy + ayt, we get vy = u sinθo – gt
x-component of velocity remains constant throughout the
motion and only the y component changes.
Let us take, xo = 0 and yo = 0, then, at time t,
From x = ux t + ½ ax t2, we get x = ux t = (vo cos θo) t  t =
 From y = uy t + ½ ay t2, we get
y = (u sinθo) t – ½ g t2
y = (u sinθo) t – ½ g t2 = (u sinθo) – ½ g( )
y=( )x - ( ) x2
Since g, θo and u are constants, equation of y is of the form y = a x + bx2, in which a and b
are constants. This is the equation of a parabola, i.e. the path of the projectile is a
parabola. ..................(3 m)

17) Derive the equation of time of maximum height, time of flight, maximum height reached
and range of the particle thrown at an oblique angle θ with respect to the horizontal
direction.
Time of maximum height and time of flight:
Let the time of maximum height be denoted by tm.
At maximum height, vy= 0,
From vy = uy + ayt, we get vy = u sinθo – g tm
0 = u sinθo – g tm
g tm = u sinθo  tm =
The total time Tf during which the projectile is in flight (time of flight) can be obtained
by putting y = 0 in the following equation
y = uy t – (½) g t2
0 = (u sinθo) Tf – (½) g Tf 2
½ g Tf 2 = (u sinθo) Tf  Tf =  Tf = 2 tm ..................(1 m)
Maximum height of a projectile:
The maximum height hm reached by the projectile can be calculated by substituting t=tm,
y = hm = (u sinθo) tm – (½) g tm2
= (u sinθo) ( ) – (½) g ( )
= –

hm = ..................(1 m)
Horizontal range of a projectile:
The horizontal distance travelled by a projectile from its initial position (x = y = 0) to
the position where it passes y = 0 during its fall is called the horizontal range, R. It is the
distance travelled during the time of flight Tf. Therefore, the range R is
x = ux t
R = (u cos θo) Tf
= (u cos θo)
=

R= ..................(1 m)
18) When is the horizontal range of a projectile maximum in oblique projection?

Horizontal range of a projectile for a given projection velocity u is, R =

R is maximum when sin2θo is maximum (2θo = 90o), i.e., when θo = 45o.
The maximum horizontal range is, therefore, Rm = (where, )

19) A cricket ball is thrown at a speed of 28 m s–1 in a direction 30° above the horizontal.
Calculate (a) the maximum height, (b) the time taken by the ball to return to the same
level, and (c) the distance from the thrower to the point where the ball returns to the same
level.
(a) The maximum height is given by,
hm = = = = = 10 m ...................(1 m)
(b) The time taken to return to the same level (time of flight) is,
Tf = = = = = 2.857 = 2.9 s ...................(1 m)
(c) The distance from the thrower to the point where the ball returns to the same level
(range) is,
√
R= = = = =14 x 2.857 x 1.732 ≈ 6 m …..(1 m)

20) A boy projects a stone vertically upwards and catches it back after 5 s. How high the stone
goes and with what velocity it was thrown? And also calculate the distance of the stone
from the highest point 4 s after it was projected upwards. (Take g = 10 m s-2)

21) What is meant by uniform circular motion?

When an object follows a circular path at a constant speed, the motion of the object is
called uniform circular motion.

22) What is centripetal acceleration? In which direction it acts?

The acceleration acting on an object moving in a circular path with constant speed is
known as centripetal acceleration. It acts along the radius and towards the centre of the
circle.

23) Explain the direction of centripetal acceleration for a particle in uniform circular motion
with neat diagram. Derive an expression for the same.