IB PHYSICS HL QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
Fundamental SI units - ANSWER kilogram (kg), metre (m), second (s), ampere (amp), mole (mol), kelvin
(K)
Random error - ANSWER An unpredictable and largely uncontrollable uncertainty. (Examples include
human reaction time and other forms of human measurement.) (Random errors can be reduced by
taking the average of repeated measurements.)
Systematic error - ANSWER An error that occurs on all measurements. (An example is a zero error on a
scale.) (Systematic errors can NOT be reduced by repeated measurement.)
Vectors - ANSWER displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, momentum.
Scalars - ANSWER mass, length, speed, energy, time.
Displacement - ANSWER the position of an object relative to a defined starting position
Velocity - ANSWER the rate at which displacement changes (with time)
Speed - ANSWER the rate at which distance changes (with time)
Acceleration - ANSWER the rate at which velocity changes (with time)
Instantaneous speed - ANSWER the speed at a particular moment in time
Average speed - ANSWER the total distance travelled divided by the total time taken (the average rate of
movement)
Equations of uniformly accelerated motion - ANSWER v = u + at
, s = ½(u+v)t
s = ut + ½ at²
v² = u² + 2as
Newton's First Law - ANSWER A body will continue in its current state of motion (velocity) unless acted
upon by a resultant force
(a = 0 if ∑F = 0)
Newton's Second Law - ANSWER The acceleration of a body is proportional to the resultant force acting
on the body (and is in the same direction)
∑F=ma ∑F= Δp/Δt
Newton's Third Law - ANSWER When two bodies interact, the force that body 1 exerts on body 2 is equal
and opposite to the force that 2 exerts on 1
(F ₁₂= -F ₂₁)
Inertial mass - ANSWER The mass of a body as determined by the second law of motion from the
acceleration of the body when it is subjected to a force that is not due to gravity. (The measurement of
an object's resistance to changes of motion)
Gravitational mass - ANSWER The mass of a body as measured by its gravitational attraction for other
bodies.
Linear momentum - ANSWER A quantity associated with the motion of an object along a straight path.
The linear momentum of an object is defined to be equal to its mass times its velocity.
Impulse - ANSWER The change in momentum. (Impulse is the integral of force over time) (Impulse
therefore is the area under a force-time graph)
Work - ANSWER The amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance
Kinetic Energy - ANSWER The mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of its motion.
ANSWERS WITH SOLUTIONS 2024
Fundamental SI units - ANSWER kilogram (kg), metre (m), second (s), ampere (amp), mole (mol), kelvin
(K)
Random error - ANSWER An unpredictable and largely uncontrollable uncertainty. (Examples include
human reaction time and other forms of human measurement.) (Random errors can be reduced by
taking the average of repeated measurements.)
Systematic error - ANSWER An error that occurs on all measurements. (An example is a zero error on a
scale.) (Systematic errors can NOT be reduced by repeated measurement.)
Vectors - ANSWER displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, momentum.
Scalars - ANSWER mass, length, speed, energy, time.
Displacement - ANSWER the position of an object relative to a defined starting position
Velocity - ANSWER the rate at which displacement changes (with time)
Speed - ANSWER the rate at which distance changes (with time)
Acceleration - ANSWER the rate at which velocity changes (with time)
Instantaneous speed - ANSWER the speed at a particular moment in time
Average speed - ANSWER the total distance travelled divided by the total time taken (the average rate of
movement)
Equations of uniformly accelerated motion - ANSWER v = u + at
, s = ½(u+v)t
s = ut + ½ at²
v² = u² + 2as
Newton's First Law - ANSWER A body will continue in its current state of motion (velocity) unless acted
upon by a resultant force
(a = 0 if ∑F = 0)
Newton's Second Law - ANSWER The acceleration of a body is proportional to the resultant force acting
on the body (and is in the same direction)
∑F=ma ∑F= Δp/Δt
Newton's Third Law - ANSWER When two bodies interact, the force that body 1 exerts on body 2 is equal
and opposite to the force that 2 exerts on 1
(F ₁₂= -F ₂₁)
Inertial mass - ANSWER The mass of a body as determined by the second law of motion from the
acceleration of the body when it is subjected to a force that is not due to gravity. (The measurement of
an object's resistance to changes of motion)
Gravitational mass - ANSWER The mass of a body as measured by its gravitational attraction for other
bodies.
Linear momentum - ANSWER A quantity associated with the motion of an object along a straight path.
The linear momentum of an object is defined to be equal to its mass times its velocity.
Impulse - ANSWER The change in momentum. (Impulse is the integral of force over time) (Impulse
therefore is the area under a force-time graph)
Work - ANSWER The amount of energy transferred by a force acting through a distance
Kinetic Energy - ANSWER The mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of its motion.
