plumiNewton’s laws: OCR GCSE Physics A questions
Every OCR GCSE Physics A exam question on P2.2 Newton’s laws, 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
Paper
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Exam
All years
Calculations
- Your answer
- Your answer
- Your answer
- Your answer
- Your answer
Q19(a)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q19(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q19(a)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q20(a)(ii)
The whole paper ↗- Your answer
Q23(a)
The whole paper ↗Q20(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q22(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q22(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q22(c)
The whole paper ↗Q16(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q16(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q16(c)
The whole paper ↗
All 58 questions on Newton’s laws, as a list
- June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q5 (1 mark): A student draws a free body force diagram of an object falling through water. What is the correct label for the downwards force? A Air resistance B Upthrust C W
- June 2025, Paper 1 Foundation, Q12 (1 mark): Four objects A, B, C and D are accelerating. Which object has the greatest resultant force? Use the equation: force = mass × acceleration Acceleration (m / s2)
- June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q9 (1 mark): A skydiver jumps out of a plane. The vector diagram shows the forces acting on the skydiver at a time after they have jumped. Air resistance Weight Which of the
- June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q12 (1 mark): Two forces act on an object. One force has a magnitude of 5.0 N and the other force has a magnitude of 8.0 N. Which row shows the minimum resultant force and th
- June 2025, Paper 3 Higher, Q13 (1 mark): Which sentence explains what is meant by the inertia of an object? A It is a measure of how difficult it is to change the density of an object. B It is a measur
- June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q19(a)(i) (2 marks): The rocket is stationary on the ground. What are the names of the upwards force and the downwards force on the rocket? Use words from the list. normal contact f
- June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q19(a)(ii) (2 marks): The rocket lifts off the ground when water is pushed out of the bottom of the rocket. Explain how Newton’s third law applies to the rocket as it lifts off the g
- June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q19(a)(iii) (1 mark): Describe the conditions needed for the rocket to accelerate upwards. Use ideas about the upwards force and the downwards force. [1]
- June 2024, Paper 1 Foundation, Q22 (6 marks): 22* A student does an experiment to investigate how the resultant force on an object affects the acceleration of the object (Newton’s second law). The diagram s
- June 2024, Paper 2 Foundation, Q20(a)(ii) (2 marks): The car has a mass of 1800 kg. Use the value for the acceleration you chose in (a)(i) to estimate the accelerating force on a car. Use the equation: force = mas
- June 2024, Paper 3 Higher, Q7 (1 mark): The arrows on these scale diagrams represent forces. Which diagram shows the largest net force? A B C D Your answer [1]
- June 2024, Paper 3 Higher, Q19 (6 marks): 19* A student investigates how the surface area of a parachute affects the time taken for the parachute to fall. The student drops parachutes with different sur
- June 2024, Paper 3 Higher, Q23(a) (3 marks): Explain why the shuttlecock reaches a maximum velocity. [3]
- June 2024, Paper 4 Higher, Q20(b)(ii) (3 marks): Estimate the force acting on car B when it decelerates at 6 m / s2. Use the equation: force = mass × acceleration For the mass in the equation, use an estimate
- June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q22(b)(i) (2 marks): Label the two forces acting on the ball as it falls. [2]
- June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q22(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain the motion of the ball as it falls. [2]
- June 2023, Paper 1 Foundation, Q22(c) (3 marks): A lorry has a mass of 30 000 kg. Calculate the force needed to accelerate the lorry at 3.0 m / s2. Use the Equation Sheet. Force = N [3]
- June 2023, Paper 3 Higher, Q16(b)(i) (2 marks): Label the two forces acting on the ball as it falls. [2]
- June 2023, Paper 3 Higher, Q16(b)(ii) (2 marks): Explain the motion of the ball as it falls. [2]
- June 2023, Paper 3 Higher, Q16(c) (3 marks): A lorry has a mass of 30 000 kg. Calculate the force needed to accelerate the lorry at 3.0 m / s2. Use the Equation Sheet. Force = N [3]
- June 2023, Paper 3 Higher, Q18(c) (3 marks): The teacher pulls another object with two separate forces of 2.0 N and 3.0 N. The forces act at right angles to each other. Fig. 18.2 shows the two forces. Fig.
- June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q21(a)(i) (1 mark): Describe the motion of the swimmer. [1]
- June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q21(a)(ii) (2 marks): Explain what happens to the swimmer if their forward force increases but the resistive force remains constant. [2]
- June 2022, Paper 1 Foundation, Q23(b)(iii) (1 mark): Both cars have the same mass. Suggest why it takes different amounts of time for them to reach their top speeds. [1]
- June 2022, Paper 3 Higher, Q12 (1 mark): Two forces, of magnitude 40 N and 60 N, act on an object. A student draws a scale-diagram to determine the net force F acting on the object. F 60 N Scale 1 cm =
- June 2022, Paper 3 Higher, Q16(b)(iii) (1 mark): Both cars have the same mass. Suggest why it takes different amounts of time for them to reach their top speeds. [1]
- June 2022, Paper 3 Higher, Q20(a)(i) (2 marks): What does Newton’s third law tell us about the force that skater A experiences from skater B? [2]
- June 2022, Paper 3 Higher, Q20(a)(ii) (3 marks): Calculate the acceleration of skater B when they are pushed with the force of 30 N. Use the equation: force = mass × acceleration Acceleration = m / s2 [3]
- June 2022, Paper 3 Higher, Q23(d) (2 marks): The diagram shows a free-body force diagram for when the magnet is at a point in the middle of the tube. Magnetic force Magnet Weight Explain the motion of the
- November 2021, Paper 1 Foundation, Q21(b)(ii) (3 marks): The astronaut is standing on the ground. Two forces acting on them are: • The force exerted by the Earth (their weight). • The force exerted by the ground (norm
- November 2021, Paper 3 Higher, Q11 (1 mark): Which statement is an explanation of inertia? A It is a measure of how difficult it is to change the velocity of an object. B It is a measure of how difficult i
- November 2021, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(i) (2 marks): Describe the two forces in the interaction pair when the mug is placed on the table. Force 1 Force 2 [2]
- November 2021, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(ii) (3 marks): Draw and label the free body force diagram for the mug placed on the table. [3]
- November 2021, Paper 4 Higher, Q4 (1 mark): Estimate the force needed to accelerate a car at 1 m / s2. 4 A 10 N B 100 N C 1000 N D 10 000 N Your answer [1]
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q2 (1 mark): A skydiver falls from a plane. What is the name of the downward force in the diagram? A Drag B Electrostatic C Mass D Weight Your answer [1]
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q11 (1 mark): Four cars of the same mass are shown here. A B 1.0 kN 1.0 kN 1.0 kN 1.5 kN C D 1.5 kN 1.5 kN 2.0 kN 2.0 kN Which car will accelerate? Your answer [1]
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q19(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the force needed to accelerate the toy car. Use the equation: force = mass × acceleration Force = N [2]
- November 2020, Paper 1 Foundation, Q19(b)(ii) (1 mark): Suggest why the actual force needed would be more than in part (b)(i). [1]
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q3 (1 mark): A motorbike travels along a straight flat road. The arrows represent the horizontal forces acting on the motorbike. A B C D Which motorbike is travelling at a u
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q7 (1 mark): Which statement is an example of Newton’s third law? A Doubling the engine force on a car doubles its acceleration. B Doubling the engine force on a car halves
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(a) (4 marks): The student has made two mistakes in their results table. Identify the two mistakes and suggest corrections to them. Mistake 1: Correction 1: Mistake 2: Correct
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(i) (1 mark): One point has not been plotted on the graph. Plot the missing point on the graph. [1]
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(ii) (2 marks): Describe the relationship between the two variables on the graph. [2]
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(iii) (2 marks): Calculate the gradient of the graph and use this to determine the mass of the trolley. Mass = kg [2]
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(iv) (2 marks): The actual mass of the trolley is lower than that found in the experiment. Suggest two reasons why. Use ideas about forces and energy in your answer. 1 2 [2]
- November 2020, Paper 3 Higher, Q21(b)(v) (2 marks): Suggest two ways the experiment could be improved. 1 2 [2]
- June 2019, Paper 1 Foundation, Q9 (1 mark): Which of the following is Newton’s Third Law? A For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. B What goes up must come down. C The acceleration that
- June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q11 (1 mark): The acceleration of a car is 2 m / s2. The mass of the car is 1000 kg. Calculate the resultant force on the car. A 20 N B 200 N C 2000 N D 20 000 N Your answer
- June 2019, Paper 3 Higher, Q11 (1 mark): Two forces act at right angles to each other. 12 N 16 N What is the magnitude of the resultant force? A 18 N B 20 N C 22 N D 24 N Your answer [1]
- June 2019, Paper 3 Higher, Q14 (1 mark): A skydiver falls from a plane. His parachute opens and he lands safely. Look at the velocity-time graph of his journey. Velocity X W Y Z Time Which parts of the
- June 2019, Paper 3 Higher, Q18(c) (3 marks): The student puts a small load on the spring. It is in equilibrium. Draw and label a free body force diagram for the load at the end of the spring. [3]
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q20(b) (4 marks): A book rests on a table. Draw a free body force diagram to show the forces acting on the book. Use arrows to represent the forces. [4]
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q20(c) (2 marks): A teacher uses an air-track for motion experiments. Using the air-track means that there is no friction between the glider and the air-track. The teacher places
- June 2018, Paper 1 Foundation, Q20(d)(i) (2 marks): Explain why the presenter is correct. [2]
- June 2018, Paper 2 Foundation, Q5 (1 mark): A student experiments with a model parachute and collects some results. She drops the parachute from a height of 4 m three times and takes three results of the
- June 2018, Paper 2 Foundation, Q22(b) (3 marks): A roller coaster car moves down a slope with an acceleration of 5 m/s2. The force on the roller coaster car is 4000 N. Calculate the mass of the roller coaster
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q10 (1 mark): Which statement is equivalent to the mass of an object? A The ratio of acceleration over force B The ratio of force over acceleration C The ratio of velocity ov
- June 2018, Paper 3 Higher, Q23(b) (4 marks): Describe the motion of the stone as it falls. Assume it does not reach terminal velocity. Use a free body diagram to help you. [4]
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