Motion in a Straight Line – True/False Mastery
NCERT Physics · Class 11 · Chapter 2

These True/False drills sharpen your instinct for 1D kinematics: distance vs displacement, speed vs velocity, signs of acceleration, graphs and stopping distance – the details exams love to twist.

Start True/False Quiz ↓ View Formula Capsules
x₀ x 1D Kinematics · T/F Logic Watch the point speed up, slow down and reverse – just like the statements you will test.
Board Weightage
~7–10 marks (concepts + numericals)
Entrance Relevance
Core JEE/NEET kinematics base
Concept Focus
Definitions · Signs · Graphs · g
Question Style
25 carefully designed T/F items

Why These True/False Questions Matter

  • Entrance exams often compress full numerical ideas into one‑line statements about graphs, signs of acceleration or free fall.
  • T/F items reveal misconceptions like “v = 0 ⇒ a = 0”, “negative acceleration always means slowing down” or “increasing speed ⇒ positive acceleration”.
  • They force you to check hidden conditions: constant acceleration, chosen positive direction, and whether we talk about speed or velocity.
  • Strong command here makes later topics (2D motion, NLM, work–energy) much easier to visualise and attack under pressure.

Key Concepts Hidden in the Statements

Distance vs Displacement

Distance is path length and never negative; displacement is the straight‑line change in position and can be zero even when distance is non‑zero.

Speed vs Velocity

Speed ignores direction; velocity is a vector whose sign in 1D tells direction. Average speed and the magnitude of average velocity are not always equal.

Acceleration & Retardation

Zero velocity does not force zero acceleration, and negative acceleration does not always reduce speed – it depends on the direction of motion.

Graphs: x–t, v–t, Speed–Time

Slope of x–t gives velocity, slope of v–t gives acceleration, area under v–t gives displacement; impossible shapes (like circular speed–time in 1D) must be rejected.

Kinematic Equations

Relations \\(v = u + at\\), \\(s = ut + \\tfrac12 at^{2}\\), \\(v^{2} = u^{2} + 2as\\) work only for constant acceleration, a condition many false statements secretly violate.

Free Fall & Direction Change

In vertical motion (upward positive), gravity provides constant negative acceleration; with acceleration opposite to velocity, a particle can reverse direction once.

Important Formula Capsules for T/F Checks

Average Velocity
\\( v_{avg} = \\dfrac{\\Delta x}{\\Delta t} \\)
Average Speed
\\( v_{speed} = \\dfrac{\\text{total distance}}{\\Delta t} \\)
Acceleration
\\( a = \\dfrac{dv}{dt} = \\dfrac{v - u}{t} \\)
Kinematic Set
\\( v = u + at \\)
\\( s = ut + \\tfrac12 at^{2} \\)
\\( v^{2} = u^{2} + 2as \\)
Free Fall
\\( s = \\tfrac12 g t^{2} \\), \\( g \\approx 9.8\\,\\text{m s}^{-2} \\)
nth Second (u=0)
\\( s_{n} = \\tfrac12 g(2n-1) \\)
Stopping Distance
\\( S = v t_{r} + \\dfrac{v^{2}}{2a} \\)

What You Will Learn by Solving These Statements

  • To instantly reject incorrect claims about distance, displacement, speed and velocity by recalling precise definitions.
  • To read x–t, v–t and speed–time graphs and use slopes and areas to verify or falsify statements.
  • To decide when acceleration is zero, positive or negative, and how that affects speed and possible reversal of motion.
  • To remember that standard kinematic equations apply only under constant acceleration and to spot when this assumption is broken.
  • To reason about everyday physics (braking, reaction time, stopping distance) with the same rigour as exam questions.

Exam Strategy & Preparation Tips for True/False

  • Underline extreme words like “always”, “never”, “at every instant” – then test the statement on edge cases (rest, free fall, turning point, a = 0, v = 0).
  • When stuck, sketch a quick graph and see if the claimed slope/area/shape is even possible for 1D motion.
  • Use one good counter‑example to kill a statement instead of trying to “prove” it with heavy algebra.
  • After each quiz, rewrite the false statements in their correct form – this converts mistakes into powerful revision notes.
  • Revisit this T/F set before tests; it is a compact checklist of kinematics traps used in boards, JEE and NEET.
Your Progress 0 / 25 attempted
Q 01 / 25
An object moving along a straight line must have a non-zero acceleration.
Q 02 / 25
Distance travelled by a particle is always greater than or equal to the magnitude of its displacement.
Q 03 / 25
A body can have zero displacement even if it has travelled a non-zero distance.
Q 04 / 25
Average speed of a particle is always equal to the magnitude of its average velocity.
Q 05 / 25
If the velocity of a body is zero at some instant, its acceleration must also be zero at that instant.
Q 06 / 25
In one-dimensional motion, the sign of velocity tells the direction of motion along the chosen axis.
Q 07 / 25
If acceleration of a particle moving in a straight line is zero, its speed must remain constant.
Q 08 / 25
A position–time graph that is a straight line with positive slope represents motion with constant positive acceleration.
Q 09 / 25
A velocity–time graph with a horizontal straight line above the time axis represents motion with constant non-zero acceleration.
Q 10 / 25
The area under a velocity–time graph between two instants gives the displacement in that time interval.
Q 11 / 25
For motion in a straight line with constant acceleration, the relation \(v = u + at\) holds, where symbols have their usual meaning.
Q 12 / 25
The equation \(s = ut + \tfrac{1}{2}at^{2}\) is valid for any motion in a straight line, irrespective of whether acceleration is constant or variable.
Q 13 / 25
If a particle moving in a straight line has a negative acceleration, its speed must always decrease.
Q 14 / 25
In one-dimensional motion with constant acceleration, the equation \(v^{2} = u^{2} + 2as\) does not contain explicit time dependence.
Q 15 / 25
A body thrown vertically upward (taking upward as positive) has constant negative acceleration throughout its flight, neglecting air resistance.
Q 16 / 25
If the displacement of a particle along a straight line is given by \(x(t) = 5t^{2}\) (in SI units), its acceleration is constant.
Q 17 / 25
For a particle executing one-dimensional motion, the instantaneous velocity at any instant equals the slope of the tangent to its position–time graph at that instant.
Q 18 / 25
If the velocity–time graph of a particle is a straight line passing through the origin with positive slope, the particle starts from rest with constant acceleration.
Q 19 / 25
Two particles move along the same straight line; if at some instant they have the same velocity, they must have the same acceleration at that instant.
Q 20 / 25
In one-dimensional motion, if a particle’s speed is increasing, its acceleration must be positive.
Q 21 / 25
If the acceleration of a particle moving in a straight line is always directed opposite to its velocity, the particle can reverse its direction of motion at most once.
Q 22 / 25
For any one-dimensional motion, the magnitude of average acceleration between two instants can never exceed the maximum magnitude of instantaneous acceleration in that interval.
Q 23 / 25
A particle moves along a straight line such that its speed–time graph is a circle of non-zero radius; this motion is impossible in one dimension.
Q 24 / 25
Two particles move along a straight line with constant but different accelerations; if their position–time graphs intersect at two distinct points, they meet each other twice.
Q 25 / 25
If a particle moves along a straight line such that its acceleration is proportional to time (\(a \propto t\)), the graph of its velocity versus time is a straight line parallel to the time axis.
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