Lesson 4 of 12 · Kinematics

Experiment⭐ 30 XP

Reading a Distance-Time Graph

🧪Lab Brief #4

Kinematics.

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

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Mind = Blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

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Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

What You'll Learn

On a distance-time graph the gradient is the speed. A straight sloping line means constant speed, a horizontal line means the object is stationary, and a curve that gets steeper means the object is speeding up.

Key Words

Tap a word to see its definition.

Materials Needed

stopwatch
tape measure
graph paper

Safety First

Use a corridor that is clear of foot traffic.

Steps

Step 1 — Read

Read the explanation above and note the two key terms before you start.

Step 2 — Do

Have someone walk a 10 m corridor while a partner calls out the time every 2 s and a third marks the position. Plot distance against time. Then repeat, walking slowly at first and speeding up, and compare the shapes of the two graphs.

Step 3 — Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 — Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 2

What does the gradient of a distance-time graph represent?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

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Where you see this in real life

This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

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Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

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For the dinner table

“What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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