The Basic Idea

Reading coordinates off a position-time graph allows one to determine the where-abouts of an object at a specified time. For two objects represented by separate lines, the reading of two position coordinates at a specified time allows one to determine the distance between those two objects' locations.
 

There are four nearly identical versions of this question. Each version shows two lines of different slope and asks the student to determine the distance between objects at a specified time. The actual graph and the specified time varies from version to version. Two of the versions are shown below.

Version 1
The two lines on the position-time graph describes the motion of two different objects. By what distance (in m) are the two objects separated at a time of 5.0 seconds?


 
Version 2
The two lines on the position-time graph describes the motion of two different objects. By what distance (in m) are the two objects separated at a time of 10.0 seconds?

 
 

How to Think About This Situation

It should be no surprise that a position-time graph represents the position of an object at specified times. In this question, two lines (one for each object) are presented on such a graph and you must determine the distance between the two objects at a specified time. To do so, you must find the specified time along the horizontal axis and read the position coordinate for each line at that time. Subtracting the two values from each other will provide the distance between the two objects' positions at that time.
 


Nothing specific on this topic.

 


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