Question pattern · Knowledge card
Multi-stage motion
Solve each motion stage separately, then carry the final velocity and position of one stage into the next before combining totals.
- Primary skill
- Calculate & apply
- Original practice questions
- 1
Connect the ideas
Key relationships and graph reading
- Boundary velocity: v(end of stage n) = u(start of stage n + 1)
- Total distance and time are sums across stages
- Whole-journey average speed = total distance / total time
Check your method
Three common mistakes
- Resetting velocity to zero between connected stages.
- Averaging the first and final speeds over a multi-stage journey.
- Combining distances before checking each stage boundary.
Original micro-example
Try the idea in miniature
A rider accelerates from rest to 2.0 m s⁻¹ in 4.0 s, travels at that speed for 3.0 s, then stops uniformly in 2.0 s. Find the total distance.
Show the short answer
The three velocity–time areas are 4.0 m, 6.0 m and 2.0 m, giving 12 m in total.
Original practice questions
Practise this question pattern
The pattern describes the reasoning structure. Each link below opens a distinct original practice question.
Hard6 marks
Multi-stage motion
Calculate & apply
Start original question