Distance-time graphs | Maths | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

What number is the arrow pointing to on this number line?

'12.4' ✓
Here is a distance-time graph for a journey. How far had been travelled after 1 hour?

'50 km' ✓
Here is a distance-time graph for a journey. How far had been travelled after 3 hours?

'150 km' ✓
On this displacement-time graph what does the line segment marked a) represent?

Moving away from the fixed start point at a constant speed.

Moving towards the fixed start point at a constant speed. ✓

Object is decelerating.

Object is stationary.

Object is travelling down hill.
What is the gradient of this line?

-2

-0.5

0.5 ✓

1

2
The gradient of this line is ______.

'-5' ✓

Exit quiz

This is a distance-time graph for a journey. What was the total distance travelled?

'800 m' ✓
This is a displacement-time graph for a journey. How far was travelled in total?

'1200 m' ✓
Here is a distance-time graph for a race car driving on a straight track. How fast is the car going?

0.025 m/s

0.8 m/s

40 m/s ✓

50 m/s

400 m/s
What speed is the object travelling at between 4 and 6 hours? Give your answer in km/h.

'250 km/h' ✓
The distance-time graph shows a two stage journey of an object. What is the average speed of this object?

'12 m/s' ✓
The average speed for this journey is ______ km/h.

'30' ✓

Worksheet

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Presentation

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Video

Lesson Details

Key learning points

On a distance-time graph, a horizontal line means no distance was travelled for that time.
A slanted line means that the distance from the start is changing over time.
The distance travelled divided by the time taken gives the speed.
You find this by considering the change in distance with respect to the change in time.
This is how you find the gradient of the line, which is also the speed.

Common misconception

Not looking at units when calculating the gradient of the line to find speed.

A recap on compound measures and units may be helpful here. The units of compound measures tell us how to calculate the measure. E.g. km/h is the distance in km/ time in hours. Pupils need to check the units on their graphs and convert if needed.

Keywords

Gradient - The gradient is a measure of how steep a line is. It is calculated by finding the rate of change in the $y$ -direction with respect to the positive $x$ -direction.
Displacement - Displacement is the distance from the starting point when measured in a straight line.