On a graph of position versus time, the slope tells us the speed. A steep slope means the object went a large distance in a time interval (fast), and a small slope means that it went a small distance (slow).

Use this idea to answer the questions below.
Vera lives about 4 miles from school. Here is a graph showing her position at various times one morning.
1. When was Vera sitting at the bus stop, waiting for the bus?

The next two questions are about the graph at right, which represents the position of an object at various times.
4. On this graph, in what time interval was the object moving the fastest?

5. When was the acceleration (or deceleration) the largest? (Note that acceleration means rate of change of speed, and thus corresponds to rapidly changing slope).

6. When is the speed large, and when is it small? Some answers
7. When is the acceleration large? Some answers
8. Was there any time that the object was not accelerating? answer
9. Give an example of an object that behaves this way an example

Science Content: More about acceleration