Question

Read each statement below carefully and state with reasons and examples, if it is true or false; 

A particle in one-dimensional motion 

a) with zero speed at an instant may have non-zero acceleration at that instant 

b) with zero speed may have non-zero velocity, 

c) with constant speed must have zero acceleration, 

d) with positive value of acceleration must be speeding up.

Answer 1

a) True 

b) False 

c) True 

d) False

Explanation:

When an object is thrown vertically up in the air, its speed becomes zero at maximum height. However, it has acceleration equal to the acceleration due to gravity (g) that acts in the downward direction at that point.

Speed is the magnitude of velocity. When speed is zero, the magnitude of velocity along with the velocity is zero.

A car moving on a straight highway with constant speed will have constant velocity. Since acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity, acceleration of the car is also zero.

This statement is false in the situation when acceleration is positive and velocity is negative at the instant time taken as origin. Then, for all the time before velocity becomes zero, there is slowing down of the particle. Such a case happens when a particle is projected upwards.

This statement is true when both velocity and acceleration are positive, at the instant time taken as origin. Such a case happens when a particle is moving with positive acceleration or falling vertically downwards from a height.