

IB DP Physics lesson pack on acceleration and non-uniform motion for Topic A.1 Kinematics, SL and HL, first assessment 2025: the rate of change of velocity, its sign, and average against instantaneous values. Editable worksheet, 29-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
- Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. The one-dimensional sign convention decides whether a body is speeding up or slowing down: it speeds up only when its acceleration shares the sign of its velocity, which a three-bodies drill fixes.
- A ball thrown straight up anchors the lesson. At the top of its flight the velocity is zero but the acceleration is not.
- Average against instantaneous acceleration: a train question converting 144 km h⁻¹ to m s⁻¹ across three intervals, and two runners whose identical averages hide one uniform and one non-uniform acceleration.
- Five explained multiple-choice questions, and exam practice with a vertical ball toss where students draw the velocity and acceleration arrows, and a wall rebound whose velocity changes sign to give a change of -20 m s⁻¹.
IB skills (Tool 3: Mathematics), all practised:
- Determine rates of change.
- Convert units, km h⁻¹ to m s⁻¹ and a contact time in milliseconds to seconds.
- Draw and label velocity and acceleration vectors on a diagram.
What’s included:
- Student Worksheet - 11 pages
- Teacher Key - 17 pages
- Worked Solutions - 10 pages
- Assessment - 7 pages
- Lesson deck - 29 slides
Free fall at g = 9.8 m s⁻² is the standard uniform example; the suvat equations and motion graphs are left to the follow-on packs. 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.
Part of the A.1 Kinematics Complete Unit Bundle: every pack for the topic, 30% off buying them separately.
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