Distance vs.

Time
 Describing a journey made by
an object is very boring if you
just use words. As with much
of science, graphs are more
revealing.
 Plotting distance against time
can tell you a lot about a
journey.
 Let's look
at the axes:
 Time always runs
horizontally (the x-
axis). The arrow
shows the direction
of time. The further
to the right, the
longer time from
the start.
 Distance runs
vertically (the y-
axis). The higher
up the graph we
go, the further
we are from the
start.
 If something is not moving, a
horizontal line is drawn on a
distance-time graph.
 Time is increasing to the
right, but its distance does
not change.
 This graph shows an object
that is stationary.
 If something is moving at
a steady speed, it means
we expect the same
increase in distance in a
given time.
 Time is increasing to the
right, and distance is
increasing steadily with
time.
 This graph
shows an
object that
moves at a
steady,
constant speed.
 Both the lines below
show that each object
moved the same
distance, but the steeper
yellow line got there
before the other one.
 What does this indicate?
 A steeper slope
indicates a larger
distance moved in a
given time. In other
words, higher
speed.
 This is shown in
yellow.
 Yellow: speed =
distance / time =
30 m / 10 s = 3 m/s
 Blue: speed =
distance / time =
20 m / 20 s = 1 m/s
 For the first
part of the
journey shown
by the graph
below, the
object moved at
a steady (slow)
speed.
 Then the object suddenly
increased its speed,
covering a much larger
distance in the same time.
 The speed increased in
the second part of the
journey.
 The line below is
curving upwards.
This shows an
increase in speed,
since the slope is
getting steeper
over time.
 In other words,
in a given time,
the distance the
object moves is
larger.
 It is
accelerating.
 There are three parts to
the journey shown
here… Where is the
graph showing motion C
that is:
 Stopped?
 Moving at a quick B
constant speed? A
 Traveling at a slow
constant speed?
 The graph below shows several stages of motion:

Stage 1: 100 m in 10 s.
Stage 2: 50 m in 10 s.
Stage 3: 150 m in 20 s.

Calculate the speeds of

each stage, indicated by the
colors.
 The graph below shows several stages of motion:
Stage 1: speed = distance /
time = 100 m / 10 s = 10 m/s
Stage 2: speed = distance /
time = 50 m / 10 s = 5 m/s
Stage 3: speed = distance /
time = 150 m / 20 s = 7.5 m/s.
 The graph below shows several stages of motion:

Stage 1: constant speed at a

relatively high rate
Stage 2: constant speed at a
relatively slow rate
Stage 3: constant speed at a
“medium” rate (between the
others)
 The graph below shows several stages of motion:

The slope of the line (its

steepness) indicates
rate of change of
position.

Speed can be estimated

by the slope of the
line… faster, slower,
etc.
 Distance vs. time graphs also indicate the
position of the object.
Stage 1 & Stage 2: object is
moving away from the starting
point

Stage 3: object is moving back

toward the starting point (it
comes back to zero)
 The steeper the line on a distance vs.
time graph, the faster the object’s
speed.
 A curved line indicates a change in
speed (accelerating or decelerating).
 Lines pointing up indicate moving
away from the starting location.
 Lines pointing down indicate moving
back towards the starting location.
 Let’s see how much this makes
sense to you…
 This is not for a grade, just to let me
know how much of this and what
parts of it you “get.”
 To learn about speed vs. time
graphs, visit this link:

http://www.gcse.com/fm/stg.htm