1. Representing Motion Graphically
6.8D measure and graph changes in motion

2. Motion Graphs Distance versus time
Time on the horizontal
Distance on the vertical
By plotting the data, you can analyze the motion of an object
Make sure you label your units

3. Graph 1
Time (s)
Distance (m) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

4. Questions
How would you describe the slant or slope of the line on your graph?
Did the object ever speed up or slow down during the 10 seconds?
A straight line on a distance vs. time graph indicates that the object traveled at a constant speed. What does constant mean?
During any 1 second of time, how far did the object move?

5. Graph 2 Time (s) Distance (m) 1 10 2 20 3 25 4 5 6 30 7 35 8 40 9 451 10 2 20 3 25 4 5 6 30 7 35 8 40 9 45 50

6. Questions
How would you describe the slant or slope of the line on your graph?
Did the object have a constant speed? How do you know?
During what time was the object’s speed the fastest?
What happened to the object’s motion between the 3 and 5 second time interval?

7. Graph 3 Object A Object B Time (s) Distance (m) 1 10 2 20 3 30 4 40 51 10 2 20 3 30 4 40 5 50 6 60 7 70 8 80 9 90
100
Time (s)
Distance (m) 1 5 2 10 3 15 4 20 25 6 30 7 35 8 40 9 45 50

8. Questions
Did the object A have a constant speed? How do you know? What is its average speed?
Did the object B have a constant speed? How do you know? What is its average speed?
Compare the slant or slope of the two lines. Just by observing the slopes, can you tell which object has the faster speed? Write a simple rule about using the slope of the lines to quickly tell which object has the fastest speed.