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Topic Newton's laws of motion
Asked 4 times across 2 UPSC exams over 11 years (2015–2026), peaking in 2020.
Key insights
- Most tested in CDS — 3 of 4 PYQs
- Most asked in 2020
- Recurs across 4 years (2015–2026)
How it travelled across exams
First appearance in each exam — the same idea, reframed.
CDS 2015 → CAPF 2020
How the concept evolved
Rising — more than half its appearances (3 of 4) are since 2016.
Related concepts
Ideas UPSC tests alongside this one — keep exploring.
Sample questions
You've seen the pattern — here are a few of the actual PYQs.
CDS2026
Which one of the following statements qualitatively explains the second law of motion ?
- A The rate of change of angular momentum of a body is equal to the applied force.
- B The rate of change of displacement of a body is directly proportional to the applied force.
- C The rate of change of acceleration of a body is directly proportional to the applied force.
- D The rate of change of momentum of a body is equal to the applied force. ✓
✓ Correct answer: (D)
Science & Technology › Physics & Chemistry
CAPF2020
Which one of the following statements with regard to Newton's third law of motion is NOT correct?
- A Force never occurs singly in nature
- B When the earth pulls a stone downwards due to gravity, the stone exerts a force on the earth
- C There is a cause-effect relation implied in the third law ✓
- D There is no cause-effect relation implied in the third law
✓ Correct answer: (C)
Science & Technology › Physics & Chemistry
CDS2017
A person thrown an object on a horizontal frictionless plane surface. It is noticed that there are two forces acting on this object-(i) gravitational pull and (ii) normal reaction of the surface. According to the third law of motion, the net resultant force is zero. Which one of the following can be said for the motion of the object?
- A The object will move with acceleration.
- B The object will move with deceleration.
- C The object will move with constant speed, but varying direction.
- D The object will move with constant velocity. ✓
✓ Correct answer: (D)
Science & Technology › Physics & Chemistry
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