Reading a Distance-Time Graph

Lab Brief #4

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

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

gradient
The steepness of a line on a graph — rise divided by run.
stationary
Not moving; position stays the same as time passes.

Make a hypothesis first

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

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

stopwatch
tape measure
graph paper

⚠️ Safety first

Use a corridor that is clear of foot traffic.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "gradient" and "stationary" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · 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 of 4 · Observe

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

Step 4 of 4 · Record

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

Question 1 of 2

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

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

A horizontal line on a distance-time graph means the object is:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

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

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Velocity-Time Graphs and the Area Underneath All lessons

🎯

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✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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Reading a Distance-Time Graph

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