MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQs)

1. Inertia of a body is related to which of the following quantities?

A. mass
B. force
C. weight
D. friction
Answer: A. mass

2. A force of 5 N is applied to a body weighing 10 N. Its acceleration in m/s² is:

A. 0.5
B. 2
C. 5
D. 50
Answer: C. 5
*(Explanation: Weight = mg → 10 = m × 9.8 → m ≈ 1.02 kg ≈ 1 kg if g=10 m/s². Then a = F/m = 5/1 = 5
m/s²)*

3. SI unit of linear momentum is:

A. kg m² s⁻¹
B. kg m² s⁻¹
C. N m
D. kg m s⁻¹
Answer: D. kg m s⁻¹

4. The rate of change of momentum of free falling body is equal to its:

A. momentum
B. velocity
C. weight
D. size
Answer: C. weight
(Explanation: Rate of change of momentum = F = mg = weight)

5. Change in momentum of a body is equal to:

A. (force) × (velocity)
B. (force) × (time)
C. (mass) × (time)
D. force
Answer: B. (force) × (time)

6. A book of mass 5 kg is placed on the table, the magnitude of net force acting on the book is:
A. 50 N
B. 5 N
C. 25 N
D. 10 N
Answer: 0 N (not in options — possible misprint)
*(Explanation: Net force = 0 because normal force balances weight. If they meant weight = 5×9.8 ≈
50 N, then A is closest, but strictly incorrect.)*

7. Thrust force is a consequence of which law of motion:

A. First
B. second
C. third
D. fourth
Answer: C. third

8. A force acts on a body for 2 seconds and it produces 50 kg m/s change in its momentum. The
force acting on the body is:
A. 100 N
B. 50 N
C. 25 N
D. 2 N
Answer: C. 25 N
*(Explanation: F = Δp/Δt = 50/2 = 25 N)*

9. At the fairground, the force that balances your weight is:

A. gravitational force
B. centripetal force
C. electrostatic force
D. frictional force
Answer: None correct — should be normal force. Possibly misprint.

10. When a hanging carpet is beaten by stick. Dust flies off the carpet. It is mainly due to:
A. Action force on carpet
B. Reaction force by carpet
C. Inertia of dust
D. Rate of change of momentum of carpet
Answer: C. Inertia of dust

12. A bucket having some water is revolved in vertical circle. Water does not spill out, even the
bucket is upside down, due to:
A. Weight of water
B. Centrifugal force on water
C. Inertia of water
D. Action and Reaction balance each other
Answer: B. Centrifugal force on water

13. The force which moves the car is:

A. Force developed by engine
B. Force of friction between road and tyre
C. Weight of car
D. Water spilt on the road
Answer: B. Force of friction between road and tyre

14. N kg⁻¹ is equivalent to:

A. m s⁻²
B. m s⁻²
C. kg m s⁻¹
D. kg s⁻²
Answer: A. m s⁻² (both A and B are same, likely typo)
15. An object of mass 1 kg placed at earth’s surface experiences a force of:
A. 1 N
B. 9.8 N
C. 100 N
D. any value
Answer: B. 9.8 N

16. Net force on the body falling in air with uniform velocity is equal to ______.
A. Weight of the body
B. Air resistance on the body
C. Difference of weight of body and air resistance on it
D. zero
Answer: D. zero

SHORT RESPONSE QUESTIONS

1. When a motor cyclist hit a stationary car, he may fly off the motor cycle and driver in the car
may get neck injury. Explain

Answer:
The motorcyclist is moving forward. When the bike hits the car and stops suddenly, the motorcyclist's
body continues moving forward due to inertia (Newton’s first law), so he flies off. The car driver’s
head is thrown backward and then forward suddenly due to the impact, causing whiplash and neck
injury.

2. In autumn, when you shake a branch, the leaves are detached. Why?

Answer:
When the branch is shaken, it moves back and forth, but the leaves tend to remain at rest due
to inertia of rest. The branch moves away from the leaves, so the leaves fall off.

QII.3. Why it is not safe to apply brakes only on the front wheel of a bicycle?

Answer:
Applying only the front brake stops the front wheel suddenly, but the rest of the bicycle and the rider
continue moving forward due to inertia. This can cause the bicycle to tip forward or the rider to be
thrown over the handlebars.

QII.4. Deduce Newton’s first law of motion from Newton’s second law of motion.

Answer:
Newton’s second law: 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎. If 𝐹 = 0, then 𝑎 = 0, meaning velocity is constant. If velocity is
constant and initially zero, the body remains at rest; if initially moving, it keeps moving with constant
velocity. This is Newton’s first law.

QII.5. Action and reaction are equal but opposite in direction. These forces always act in pair. Do
they balance each other? Can bodies move under action-reaction pair?

Answer:
They do not balance each other because they act on different bodies. A body can move because the
action force acts on one body and the reaction on another — motion occurs due to net force on a
single body, not due to action-reaction cancellation.
QII.6. A man slips on the oily floor; he wants to move out of this area. He is alone. He throws his
bag to move out of this slippery area. Why is it so?

Answer:
By throwing the bag forward, the man exerts a force on the bag. According to Newton’s third law, the
bag exerts an equal and opposite force on the man, pushing him backward. On a slippery floor with
little friction, this small reaction force allows him to move.

QII.7. How would you use Newton’s 3rd law of motion and law of conservation of momentum to
explain motion of rocket?

Answer:
Rocket expels hot gases backward (action). Gases exert equal and opposite force on rocket forward
(reaction) — Newton’s 3rd law. Total momentum of rocket + gases remains constant initially zero;
forward momentum of rocket equals backward momentum of gases — conservation of momentum.

QII.8. Why are cricket batter gloves padded with foam?

Answer:
Δ𝑝
Padding increases the time of impact when the ball hits the glove. From 𝐹 = Δ𝑡
, longer impact time
reduces the average force, protecting the hands.

QII.9. Where will your weight be greater, near earth or near moon? What about mass?

Answer:
Weight is greater near Earth because gravitational acceleration is larger. Mass is the same
everywhere.

QII.10. When Ronaldo kicks the ball, at the highest point of ball both Earth and ball attract each
other with the same magnitude of force. Why then the ball moves towards Earth and not the
Earth?

Answer:
By 𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎, the same force produces huge acceleration on the ball (small mass) but negligible
acceleration on Earth (huge mass). So the ball moves toward Earth, not Earth toward the ball.

numerical.
1. A boy is holding a book of mass 2 kg. How much force is he applying on the book? If he moves it
up with acceleration of 3 m/s², how much should he apply total force on the book?
(Ans. 19.6 N, 25.6 N)

Solution:

• Mass of book 𝑚 = 2 kg

• Gravitational acceleration 𝑔 = 9.8 m/s2

(i) When holding the book stationary (at rest):

Force applied = weight of book

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑔 = 2 × 9.8 = 19.6 N
(ii) When moving the book upward with acceleration 𝑎 = 3 m/s2 :
Total force = Force to overcome weight + Force to accelerate upward

𝐹total = 𝑚𝑔 + 𝑚𝑎 = 𝑚(𝑔 + 𝑎) = 2 × (9.8 + 3) = 2 × 12.8 = 25.6 N

Answer: 19.6 N, 25.6 N

2. A girl of mass 30 kg is running with velocity of 4 m/s. Find her momentum.

(Ans. 120 N) [Note: Unit should be kg m/s, not N]

Solution:

• Mass 𝑚 = 30 kg

• Velocity 𝑣 = 4 m/s

Momentum

𝑝 = 𝑚 × 𝑣 = 30 × 4 = 120 kg m/s

Answer: 120 kg m/s

3. A 2 kg steel ball is moving with speed of 15 m/s. It hits with bulk of sand and comes to rest in 0.2
second. Find force applied by sand bulk on the ball.
*(Ans. -150 N)*

Solution:

• Mass 𝑚 = 2 kg

• Initial velocity 𝑣𝑖 = 15 m/s

• Final velocity 𝑣𝑓 = 0 m/s

• Time 𝑡 = 0.2 s

Change in momentum

Δ𝑝 = 𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) = 2 × (0 − 15) = −30 kg m/s

Force
Δ𝑝 −30
𝐹= = = −150 N
𝑡 0.2

Negative sign indicates force is opposite to direction of motion.

Answer: -150 N
4. A 100 grams bullet is fired from 5 kg gun. Muzzle velocity of bullet is 20 m/s. Find recoil velocity
of the gun.
*(Ans. 0.4 m/s)*

Solution:

• Mass of bullet 𝑚𝑏 = 100 g = 0.1 kg

• Mass of gun 𝑚𝑔 = 5 kg

• Velocity of bullet 𝑣𝑏 = 20 m/s (forward)

• Recoil velocity of gun 𝑣𝑔 =? (backward)

By conservation of momentum (initial total momentum = 0):

𝑚𝑔 𝑣𝑔 + 𝑚𝑏 𝑣𝑏 = 0
5 × 𝑣𝑔 + 0.1 × 20 = 0
5𝑣𝑔 + 2 = 0
5𝑣𝑔 = −2
𝑣𝑔 = −0.4 m/s

Negative sign means opposite direction to bullet. Magnitude = 0.4 m/s.

Answer: 0.4 m/s

5. A robotic car of 15 kg is moving with 25 m/s. Brakes are applied to stop it. Brakes apply constant
force of 50 N. How long does the car take to stop?
(Ans. 7.5 s)

Solution:

• Mass 𝑚 = 15 kg

• Initial velocity 𝑣𝑖 = 25 m/s

• Final velocity 𝑣𝑓 = 0 m/s

• Braking force 𝐹 = −50 N (opposite to motion)

Acceleration (deceleration)
𝐹 −50 10
𝑎= = =− m/s2 ≈ −3.33 m/s2
𝑚 15 3

Using 𝑣𝑓 = 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑎𝑡:
10
0 = 25 + ( − 3 ) 𝑡
10
𝑡 = 25
3
3 75
𝑡 = 25 × = = 7.5 s
10 10
Answer: 7.5 s