Physics 0625 · syllabus 1.2
Cambridge IGCSE Physics 0625 — Motion topical past papers
Speed, velocity and acceleration, distance–time and speed–time graphs, distance from the area under a graph, and falling objects reaching terminal velocity.
- Questions
- 1,118
- Years
- 2009–2026
- With mark scheme
- 100%
- Questions 2022–2026
- 425
Anyone can browse these pages. Opening the questions and their mark schemes takes a free Momentum account.
What Motion covers
Speed is the distance travelled per unit time, v = s/t, and average speed is the total distance divided by the total time, however much the speed varied on the way. Velocity is speed in a stated direction, so two cars driving at the same speed in opposite directions have different velocities. Near the Earth's surface an object falling freely, with no air resistance, gains speed at about 9.8 m/s every second: the acceleration of free fall is about 9.8 m/s².
Graphs carry much of the topic. On a distance–time graph a horizontal line means the object is at rest, a straight sloping line means a constant speed, and the gradient is the speed; a curve that gets steeper shows the object speeding up. On a speed–time graph a horizontal line means a constant speed, a line sloping up means accelerating and one sloping down decelerating, and the area under the line is the distance travelled.
Extended candidates define acceleration as the change in velocity per unit time, a = Δv/Δt, find it from the gradient of a speed–time graph, treat a deceleration as a negative acceleration, and recognise a changing acceleration from a curved speed–time graph. They also explain terminal velocity: as a falling object speeds up, air resistance grows until it equals the weight, the resultant force is then zero, and the object falls at a steady speed. Motion appears on every theory and multiple-choice paper, and timing moving objects is a regular practical.
In the syllabus
The headings this topic has in the Cambridge International 2026–2028 syllabus, as the board prints them.
- 1.2 Motion
What you should be able to do
- Use v = s/t and average speed = total distance ÷ total time, converting km/h to m/s where needed
- Describe the motion shown by each section of a distance–time or speed–time graph
- Work out a speed from the slope of a straight section of a distance–time graph, and a distance from the area under a speed–time graph
- Calculate acceleration from a = Δv/Δt or from a gradient, giving a deceleration a negative sign (Extended)
- Tell constant from changing acceleration by whether a speed–time graph is straight or curved (Extended)
- Explain how an object falling through air or a liquid reaches terminal velocity (Extended)
Key ideas
- Speed v = s/t (m/s); average speed = total distance travelled ÷ total time taken
- Velocity is speed in a given direction; acceleration a = Δv/Δt, in m/s² (Extended)
- Gradient of a distance–time graph = speed; gradient of a speed–time graph = acceleration
- Area under a speed–time graph = distance travelled
- Acceleration of free fall near the Earth's surface: g ≈ 9.8 m/s²
How Motion has been examined
From 2022 to 2026, Motion was on Paper 4 · Theory (Extended) in 14 of 14 exam series, worth about 18% of that paper’s marks.
| Paper | Questions | Share of marks | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 · Multiple Choice (Core) | 124 | 10% | 14 of 14 |
| Paper 2 · Multiple Choice (Extended) | 172 | 13% | 14 of 14 |
| Paper 3 · Theory (Core) | 48 | 15% | 14 of 14 |
| Paper 4 · Theory (Extended) | 58 | 18% | 14 of 14 |
| Paper 6 · Alternative to Practical | 23 | 17% | 12 of 14 |
Momentum’s own count, over the questions in its bank for these years: a series is one exam session, every zone included, and a question filed under two chapters counts in both. Median marks per question: 1. The bank files this topic together with neighbouring ones, so these figures count every question in its chapters, including some on those topics.
Filed in Momentum under: Forces and Motion.
A worked example
A car pulls away from traffic lights, speeding up steadily from rest to 9.0 m/s in 3.0 s. It travels at 9.0 m/s for 12 s, then brakes steadily to rest in 3.0 s at the next lights. Find its acceleration in the first 3.0 s, the distance between the two sets of lights and the car's average speed.
- Acceleration: a = Δv/Δt = (9.0 − 0) / 3.0 = 3.0 m/s²
- Speeding up: distance = area of a triangle = ½ × 3.0 × 9.0 = 13.5 m
- Steady speed: distance = 9.0 × 12 = 108 m
- Braking: distance = ½ × 3.0 × 9.0 = 13.5 m
- Total distance = 13.5 + 108 + 13.5 = 135 m in a total time of 18 s, so the average speed = 135 / 18 = 7.5 m/s
Answer: Acceleration 3.0 m/s²; the lights are 135 m apart; average speed 7.5 m/s
Written by Momentum for this page, with its own numbers; it is not taken from a past paper.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Averaging the speeds of two stages instead of dividing total distance by total time — 10 km at 20 km/h then 10 km at 60 km/h takes 40 minutes, an average of 30 km/h, not 40 km/h
- Reading a speed–time graph as if it showed distance — a horizontal line there means a steady speed, not that the object has stopped
- Taking the area under a distance–time graph — the area gives a distance only on a speed–time graph
- Leaving a gradient in mixed units — a speed worked out from kilometres and minutes has to be converted before it can be given in m/s
- Saying a falling object stops accelerating because gravity stops acting — its weight is unchanged; the acceleration falls to zero because air resistance has grown to equal the weight, leaving no resultant force
Exam technique
- Check the axes before you read a graph: is it distance or speed, and in what units?
- Split the area under a speed–time graph into rectangles and triangles, and show each area separately
- When describing motion from a graph, quote values: 'a constant speed of 4.0 m/s for 10 s' earns more than 'constant speed'
- For terminal velocity, cover the weight, air resistance increasing with speed, the resultant force falling to zero and the acceleration falling to zero
Practising in Momentum
- Every question in a chapter as one list, from every paper and year in the bank, newest first or shuffled.
- Each question turns over to its own part of the mark scheme, where the board published one.
- Narrow by paper, year, session, zone and marks, and star the questions worth keeping.
- Pick chapters, a number of questions and a time, and the exam builder draws a mock to sit and mark.
Past-paper questions and mark schemes are the copyright of Cambridge International. Momentum shows them to signed-in learners for revision and does not publish them on these pages.