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AS Daily A Level Physics question

2026-03-09 OCR A Mechanics & Materials (M3) OCR-A 3.1.1 Kinematics: displacement, velocity, acceleration; motion graphs OCR-A 3.1.2 Motion with constant acceleration (suvat)

In a straight-track lab, a trolley starts from rest and moves with constant acceleration. If the time of travel is doubled (with the same motion continuing), what happens to the displacement from the start?

  1. A It doubles.
  2. B It increases by a factor of three.
  3. C It stays the same.
  4. D It increases by a factor of four. (correct)

Answer

The correct answer is D.

Correct: D — It increases by a factor of four. A assumes distance is proportional to time as if speed were constant; with constant acceleration from rest, average speed is higher over the longer interval so distance grows faster than time. B still underestimates it; doubling the time from rest does not merely triple the displacement. C is impossible because with non-zero acceleration for longer, the trolley continues to cover additional distance. D is correct for uniform acceleration from rest: displacement scales with the square of time, so doubling time makes the displacement four times larger.