Practice AHL 3.12—Vector applications to kinematics with authentic IB Mathematics Applications & Interpretation (AI) exam questions for both SL and HL students. This question bank mirrors Paper 1, 2, 3 structure, covering key topics like core principles, advanced applications, and practical problem-solving. Get instant solutions, detailed explanations, and build exam confidence with questions in the style of IB examiners.
The position of a particle is given by
Find the acceleration vector ( t ) at time t .
A particle moves such that its position at time t is given by
Find the speed of the particle.
Two particles A and B have position vectors:
Determine whether the particles ever meet.
A particle has velocity
Find the position vector ( t ) and describe the path of the particle.
A particle has position vector
Show that the particle is moving on a curve and find the angle between the velocity and acceleration vectors at .
The position vector of a particle, P, relative to a fixed origin O at time t is given by
Find the velocity vector of P.
Show that the acceleration vector of P is never parallel to the position vector of P.
A particle P moves with velocity v = in a magnetic field, B = ,.
Given that v is perpendicular to B, find the value of .
The force, F, produced by P moving in the magnetic field is given by the vectorequation F = v× B,.
Given that| F | = 14, find the value of .
At an archery tournament, a particular competition sees a ball launched into the air while anarcher attempts to hit it with an arrow.
The path of the ball is modelled by the equation
where is the horizontal displacement from the archer and is the vertical displacementfrom the ground, both measured in metres, and is the time, in seconds, since the ballwas launched.
In this question both the ball and the arrow are modelled as single points. The ball is launchedwith an initial velocity such that and .
An archer releases an arrow from the point . The arrow is modelled as travelling in astraight line, in the same plane as the ball, with speed and an angle of elevation of .
Find the initial speed of the ball.
Find the angle of elevation of the ball as it is launched.
Find the maximum height reached by the ball.
Assuming that the ground is horizontal and the ball is not hit by the arrow, find the coordinate of the point where the ball lands.
For the path of the ball, find an expression for in terms of .
Determine the two positions where the path of the arrow intersects the path of the ball.
Determine the time when the arrow should be released to hit the ball before the ballreaches its maximum height.
At an archery tournament, a particular competition sees a ball launched into the air while an archer attempts to hit it with an arrow. The path of the ball is modelled by the equation where is the horizontal displacement from the archer and is the vertical displacement from the ground, both measured in metres, and is the time, in seconds, since the ball was launched.
Find the initial speed of the ball.
Find the angle of elevation of the ball as it is launched.
Find the maximum height reached by the ball.
Assuming that the ground is horizontal and the ball is not hit by the arrow, find the coordinate of the point where the ball lands.
For the path of the ball, find an expression for in terms of .
An archer releases an arrow from the point (0, 2). The arrow is modelled as travelling in a straight line, in the same plane as the ball, with speed 60 m s⁻¹ and an angle of elevation of 10°. Determine the two positions where the path of the arrow intersects the path of the ball.
Determine the time when the arrow should be released to hit the ball before the ball reaches its maximum height.
A particle starts from the position and moves with a constant velocity .
Write the vector equation of the particle’s motion.
Find the position of the particle at seconds.
Determine the time when the particle crosses the x-axis (where ).