As in the previous question, candidates appeared to understand the distinction between average and instantaneous speeds but could not express a concise or (sometimes) meaningful account. Some good answers were seen that used calculus ideas but this was not required by the examiners.

(i) Candidates were required to recognize that the area under an acceleration–time graph yields the speed change of a particle. They were also expected to give a realistic number of significant figures in their answer. This trapped very many.

(ii) A very large majority of candidates were able to give a good sketch of a parabola for their answer. Failing answers included a straight line through the origin and a straight line parallel to the x-axis.