Distance–time graphs and drawing motion graphs
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The teaching part (1 min) is free to watch. A free account opens the whole lecture: 1 worked example, 7 practice questions, 1 real past-paper question with the answer explained, the mistakes that lose marks, the full-marks tip, a one-card summary and a quick quiz.
What this lecture covers
- A journey in one picture
- Reading a graph
- The gradient is the speed
Read the transcript of the teaching part
Last time
Before we start: last time, in Speed–time graphs, you learned these points. Here they are again on one card. Keep them in mind, because today builds on them.
A journey in one picture
A graph can tell the story of a whole journey. Distance goes up the side, and time goes along the bottom. Every part of the line tells us whether the object is moving, stopped, or going faster.
Reading a graph
Here is a girl's walk. For the first ten seconds, the line climbs steadily to twenty metres. Then the line is flat: she is standing still for the next ten seconds.
The gradient is the speed
On a distance–time graph, the gradient of the line is the speed. The gradient is the rise divided by the run: the change in distance divided by the change in time. A steep line means a high speed. A shallow line means a low speed. A flat line has a gradient of zero, so the object is not moving.
How often it comes up
How often Cambridge has asked each part, counted by ExamYard from every past paper in its question bank: Speed–time graphs · Distance from a speed–time graph.
Chapter 1.2: Motion
- Speed, average speed and acceleration 6 min
- Distance–time graphs and drawing motion graphs 5 min
- Speed–time graphs: gradient and area 5 min
Also for O Level Physics 5054
Which topics come up most in O Level Physics 5054 past papers, counted from every paper since 2004.