Distance vs. Time: Steeper Slope = Faster Speed: a guide for parents

Grades 6–8 • Math • Free, no login

Label the graph, race vehicles on a track, and see why a steeper slope means a faster speed.

Kitchen Table Prompt

Ask: if you walk and your little brother runs, whose line on the graph climbs faster? The steeper the line, the more distance you cover each second, so the faster you are going.

Standards this lesson covers

• Common Core: MS-PS2-2 (Motion and Stability: investigate how position and speed change over time)
• Texas (TEKS): TEKS 8.6B & 6.8C (Differentiate between speed, velocity, and acceleration; calculate average speed using distance and time; interpret and graph distance vs. time)
• Florida (NGSSS): FL NGSSS SC.6.P.12.1 (Measure and graph distance versus time for an object moving at a constant speed)
• Virginia (SOL): VA SOL 7.10 & 8.16 (Determine the slope of a line as a rate of change; identify and graph proportional relationships)
• North Carolina (SCOS): NC SCOS 7.RP.2 & 8.EE.5 (Recognize and represent proportional relationships; graph them, interpreting the unit rate as the slope of the graph)

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• Newton's Laws of MotionBalanced forces, pushes and acceleration, and equal-and-opposite pairs.
• Isolating Variables: One- and Two-Step EquationsGet x alone: undo the loose number first, then the multiplier, keeping both sides balanced.