Exploration 2.1: Compare Position vs. Time and Velocity vs. Time Graphs

 Animation 1:  Show x vs. t  Show v vs. t  
 Animation 2:  Show x vs. t  Show v vs. t
 Animation 3:    Show x vs. t    Show v vs. t

Please wait for the animation to completely load.

Shown are three different animations, each with three toy monster trucks moving to the right.  Two ways to describe the motion of the trucks are position vs. time graphs and velocity vs. time graphs (position is given in centimeters and time is given in seconds).  Restart.

Answer the following questions that focus on the velocity and acceleration of the monster trucks.

  1. How does the initial position affect the various graphs?
  2. Describe the motion of the trucks by analyzing the position vs. time graphs.
  3. Once you have completed (a) and (b), check your answers by analyzing the velocity vs. time graphs.

When you get a good-looking graph, right-click on it to clone the graph and resize it for a better view.  This is especially important for viewing points near the origin.

 

 

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