• can be used to show uniform and non uniform acceleration of a car traveling along a straight line in one direction

Velocity time graphs: gradient gives acceleration of object


Describing velocity time graphs

  1. Direction. + or -, left or right, up or down
  2. Acceleration - constant / uniform / increasing / decreasing  When describing, do your best to squeeze in some actual numbers from the graph

When is displacement negative for velocity time graph?

  • When the negative region of the graph is greater than the positive region. 
  • Negative displacement is greater than the positive displacement.

Meaning of negative velocity:

  • Object moves in the other direction from which it started.


- Velocity of car remains at 0, car has 0 acceleration as gradient = 0. 
- Area under graph is 0, displacement is constantly 0, stationary

- Velocity remains at 10m/s - uniform velocity. 
- Car has 0 acceleration as gradient equal to 0. 
- Positive direction from starting point [check]

- Velocity of car increases by 10 m/s every second
- Graph has positive and constant gradient, acceleration is uniform/constant
- Moves in a positive direction from the starting point.

- Velocity of car decreases by 10 m/s every second
- Graph has negative and constant gradient, and there is acceleration in the negative direction (deceleration)
- Object is still moving in the positive direction away from the starting point, but the object has acceleration in the negative direction. (slowing down)

- Increase in velocity of car is increasing with time
- Graph has positive and increasing gradient, acceleration increases
- Moves in a positive direction from the starting point.

- Increase in velocity of car is decreasing with time
- Graph has a positive and decreasing gradient, and acceleration decreases.
- Moves in a positive direction from the starting point.

Unaccepted phrasing

  • constantly accelerating
  • Rate of acceleration is constant


Area under Velocity Time Graph

⇒ returns displacement


Speed time against graph against velocity time graph

assign upward direction from ground as positive

Speed/time graphVelocity/time graph
→ distance traveled h during its upward journey to the highest point. 
→ distance traveled h during its downward journey from the highest point. 

For speed-time graph:

Total distance traveled by volleyball = total area under the speed time graph
→ displacement is positive during its upward journey to the highest point
→ displacement is negative during its downward journey from the highest point.

For velocity time graph:
Total displacement of volleyball = total area under velocity time graph 

Acceleration of free fall
Galileo’s finding - all objects, regardless of mass or size, fell at the same acceleration due to earth’s gravity

Acceleration due to gravity / gravitational field strength g is a constant.  Value of g is taken to be