Distance/Time graphs

 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.
Straight line
 If something is not
moving, a horizontal line
is drawn on a distance-
time graph (d/t graph).
 Time is increasing to the
right, but its distance
does not change. It is
stationary.
Gradient or Slope
 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. It moves at a
steady speed.
Steeper slopes (gradients)
 Both the lines below show
that each object moved
the same distance, but
the steeper yellow line
got there before the
other one:
 A steeper gradient
indicates a larger
distance moved in a given
time. In other words,
higher speed.
 Both lines are of constant
gradient, so both speeds
are constant.
Change in speed
 For the first part of the
journey shown by the
graph below, the object
moved at a steady (slow)
speed:
 It then suddenly
increased its speed,
covering a much larger
distance in the same
time.
 This sort of motion is not
very realistic, but is easy
to understand. It also
makes calculations easier!
Accelerating
 The line below is curving
upwards. This shows an
increase in speed, since
the gradient is getting
steeper:
 In other words, in a given
time, the distance the
object moves is larger. It
is accelerating.
A whole journey
 There are three parts to
the journey shown:
 Moving at a steady speed,
slowly
Not moving for quite some
time
Moving again, but at
higher speed
 In all the graphs so far,
we have not seen any
numbers - it's about time
we did!
Calculations
 Let's begin with the
following graph. We can
see that the motion shown
by the yellow line is
fastest.
 By definition, speed =
distance / time so the
steepness (or gradient) of
the line will give us the
speed!
 Yellow: speed = distance /
time = 30 m / 10 s = 3 m/s
 Blue: speed = distance /
time = 20 m / 20 s = 1 m/s
Putting it all together
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 colours.
The answers
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