A person has been for a walk. Figure 9 shows the distance-time graph for the walk. What was the total distance walked by the person in 2000 seconds?
How to approach this question
1. Find the value 2000 on the x-axis (Time in seconds).
2. Move vertically up from this point until you reach the line on the graph.
3. From that point on the line, move horizontally to the left to read the corresponding value on the y-axis (Distance in metres).
Full Answer
To find the total distance walked in 2000 seconds, we need to read the value from the graph.
1. Locate "2000" on the horizontal axis (Time in seconds).
2. Follow the grid line vertically upwards from 2000 s to the point where it meets the graph line.
3. Follow the grid line horizontally to the left from this point to the vertical axis (Distance in metres).
The line meets the y-axis halfway between 3000 and 3500. Each major grid line on the y-axis represents 500m, so the midpoint is 3250m.
Common mistakes
✗ Misreading the scale on the y-axis. Each large square is 500m, so each small square is 50m.\n✗ Reading the value at a different time point.
Expert