IB DP Physics lesson pack on the SUVAT equations of motion for Topic A.1 Kinematics, SL and HL, first assessment 2025: all four derived from one velocity-time graph, then chosen and applied. Editable worksheet, 35-slide lesson deck, teacher key, worked solutions and a questions-only assessment, supplied as self-contained HTML plus colour and black-and-white PDF.
What students learn
- The lesson opens on a braking puzzle: at twice the speed, how much further back must a cyclist start braking? Four times, not twice, because stopping distance grows with the square of the speed.
- Students derive all four equations for themselves from a single velocity-time graph: v = u + at from the gradient, s = (u+v)t/2 from the area, and the other two by substitution and elimination.
- A method for selecting the right equation, spotting the one quantity that is neither given nor wanted, then applied to worked examples including a braking car at 108 km h⁻¹. A reversal problem builds sign discipline, where the distance travelled exceeds the magnitude of the displacement.
- A 10-mark data question in the Paper 1B pattern, set as marked homework, linearizes v^2 = u^2 + 2as: acceleration from the gradient, initial speed and its uncertainty from the intercept, the time to the end of the slope, and one improvement.
IB skills (Tool 3: Mathematics, with Inquiry 3), all practised:
- Derive relationships algebraically.
- Select and manipulate equations.
- Linearize a graph and interpret its gradient and intercept.
- Interpret an uncertainty bar and propagate an uncertainty.
- Explain realistic improvements to an investigation.
What’s included:
- Student Worksheet - 12 pages
- Teacher Key - 18 pages
- Worked Solutions - 13 pages
- Assessment - 10 pages
- Lesson deck - 35 slides
One-dimensional horizontal motion only: vertical motion and g, projectiles and non-uniform acceleration are left to the follow-on packs. The pack assumes no earlier lesson. Worksheet and deck open in any modern browser with nothing to install, and the worksheet is fully editable. SI units, IB notation and IB command terms throughout. Suitable for grades 11-12 (ages 16-19) as a lesson, cover lesson, homework or revision.
Related resources:
- SUVAT Equations II: Vertical Motion and Gravity, the same equations under gravity
- Graphical Analysis of Motion, the graph the derivation starts from
- Uncertainties on a Graph, the skill pack behind the error-bar question
Updated 15 Oct 2026: please reprint.
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