Kaplan Nursing Entrance Practice Exam

What area of study does kinematics focus on?

1. The reasons behind motion.

2. The forces affecting motion.

3. How things move.

4. The effects of gravity on motion.

The correct answer is: How things move.

Kinematics is a branch of physics that specifically studies the motion of objects without considering the forces that cause that motion. It focuses on parameters such as displacement, velocity, acceleration, and time. By analyzing these aspects, kinematics provides a detailed description of how objects move, including their speed and trajectory. The other aspects mentioned in the question relate to different areas of physics. The reasons behind motion pertain to dynamics, which studies the forces and their effects on motion. Forces affecting motion also fall under dynamics, as it examines how various forces (like friction, tension, and gravity) influence the movement of objects. Lastly, the effects of gravity on motion are addressed in specific contexts, such as gravitational physics or celestial mechanics, and are not the primary focus of kinematics. Therefore, identifying how things move, which is the core focus of kinematics, is the most accurate choice in this context.