Try to graph each stage of the movement, one at a time.
B
Can you think of an object that can move at 2 different constant speeds?
A
Example Solution:
B
See solution.
Practice makes perfect
Let's take a look at the given graph. It shows the speed of an object over time. We can see that there are three horizontal segments in our graph, which means there are three stages of the movement.
Now we want to sketch a graph that shows the distance traveled by the object over time. Let's draw distance traveled in each stage, one at a time. First, the object travels at a constant speed for some time. This means that the distance increases proportionally and we will draw a segment with a positive slope.
In the second stage, the object's speed drops to 0 and the object does not move for a while. This means that the distance does not change in this step and we should draw a horizontal segment that starts at the end of the first segment.
Finally, the object starts traveling at a constant speed again, but this time the speed is lower. Therefore, our segment should be less steep than the first segment.
Notice that this is only an example solution because we can draw other graphs that fit the given situation.
Let's take a look at the graph we made in Part A.
These graphs can represent the movement of an electronic toy car. Let's suppose that this toy has two speeds. First we move the toy car at the greater speed and then we stop it for a while. Next, we start moving it again, this time at the lower speed.
