En anglais

Reading velocity-time graphs

Science · Forces & Motion · ages 14-15

Name ______________________ Date ____________

What does the slope of a velocity-time graph tell you?
- The distance travelled
- The mass of the object
- The acceleration
What is acceleration?
- How quickly velocity changes
- The total length of the journey
- The total time taken for the journey
A flat horizontal velocity-time line means steady speed.
Circle one: True False
A velocity-time graph stays at or above zero throughout a journey. What does the area between its line and the time axis give?
- The acceleration in m/s²
- The distance travelled
- The time spent travelling
A car goes from rest to a forward velocity of 20 m/s in 5 s. What is its average acceleration, in m/s²?
Answer: ______________
A velocity-time line slopes downward but stays above zero. What is happening to the object's speed?
- Speeding up
- Slowing down
- Stopped
A bus travels at a steady 10 metres per second for 6 seconds. How far does it travel in metres?
Answer: ______________
A bus travels forward from rest with constant positive acceleration. Which pair of graphs matches this part of its journey?
- Distance-time curves upward; velocity-time rises in a straight line
- Distance-time rises in a straight line; velocity-time curves upward
- Distance-time stays flat; velocity-time stays flat above zero

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

The acceleration · Steepness of the line is the acceleration.
How quickly velocity changes · Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity.
True · A horizontal line has zero gradient, so velocity and speed stay constant. A horizontal line at zero represents rest.
The distance travelled · With no negative velocity, the area gives both the forward displacement and the distance travelled.
4 · Average acceleration = (20 - 0) ÷ 5 = 4 m/s².
Slowing down · The positive velocity is getting closer to zero, so its size, the speed, decreases.
60 · The area is a rectangle: 10 times 6 is 60.
Distance-time curves upward; velocity-time rises in a straight line · Constant positive acceleration gives a straight rising velocity-time line. The increasing forward speed makes the distance-time curve progressively steeper.