Reading Distance-Time Graphs
Read and plot distance-time graphs for moving objects; interpret the gradient (steepness) of a line as speed; identify stationary periods (horizontal sections), constant speed (straight diagonal lines), and relative speeds by comparing gradients; calculate average speed from the gradient of a straight-line segment using speed = distance ÷ time
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Teaching Table
Set out your lesson
“A distance-from-start-time graph shows how far a traveler is from a fixed starting point as time passes. Slope magnitude represents speed; a horizontal segment means the position is unchanged.”
Bring to the table
- Paper
- Pencil
- Ruler
Full guide and materials
- Paper
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Step 1. Label time on the horizontal axis and distance from the starting point on the vertical axis.
- Step 2. Read coordinates at three times.
- Step 3. Compare steep, shallow, and horizontal segments.
- Step 4. Sketch a journey that moves away, stops, then moves away faster.
- Quick check. Ask when the traveler stopped and which segment was fastest. Success means your child uses slope and coordinates accurately.
Worked example. A line rising from 0 km at 0 h to 6 km at 2 h represents an average speed of 3 km/h; a flat line afterward represents a stop.
Optional challenge. Calculate average speed for two segments and explain why a downward distance-from-start line represents returning toward the fixed starting point.
What to notice. Save a photo of the annotated or child-drawn graph, or a short note recording two correct graph interpretations.
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Teaching approaches
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1 approach
A distance-from-start-time graph shows how far a traveler is from a fixed starting point as time passes. Slope magnitude represents speed; a horizontal segment means the position is unchanged.
Read and annotate a short journey graph, then sketch a graph from a written journey story.
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Learning resources
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Check understanding
- Read a distance-time graph and describe what is happening at each stage — moving, stopped, returning
- Calculate speed from the gradient of a straight section of a distance-time graph
- Sketch a distance-time graph from a written description of a journey with stops and speed changes
“If your child sees a distance-time graph of a journey with a flat section in the middle, can they explain what was happening then — and point to which part of the graph shows the fastest speed?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Representational
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Forces & Motion
- Age range
- Ages 10–13