travel graphs youtube

TOM ROCKS MATHS

Maths, but not as you know it…, gcse maths: travel graphs (speed-distance-time).

Learn how to use travel graphs relating speed, distance and time to solve problems. Tom introduces the topic, Bobby applies it to Usain Bolt’s 100-metre world record, and Susan uses an interactive tool on GeoGebra – go to www.geogebra.org/m/ABuBYdX7 to join in at home. 

This is the second lesson in a new series with the Maths Appeal duo – Bobby Seagull and Susan Okereke – and Tom Rocks Maths where we’ll be exploring the GCSE Maths syllabus to show the world that maths is accessible to everyone!

Watch Bobby and Susan answer YOUR questions here .

Watch Tom’s livestream here .

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

[…] Watch the video for lesson 2 (Travel graphs) here. […]

[…] Watch the video lesson here. […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

Ultimate Guide to Travel Graphs| Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics

• July 20, 2023
• 4 minutes read
• Listen to this

• A travel graph is a line graph that shows us the motion of an object and from which we can find out the distance traveled by the object and the speed of the object.

[Please watch the video attached at the end of this blog for a visual explanation on the Ultimate Guide to Travel Graphs]

Travel graphs fall under the bigger topic of Algebra, but unlike the other lessons under this topic, this is really simple and easy to understand… as long as you read the question carefully and pay attention to the readings of the graphs ?!

What is a travel graph?

A travel graph is a line graph that tells us how much distance has been covered by the object in question within a particular time. We can use travel graphs to represent the motion of cars, people, trains, buses, etc. This means travel graphs can tell us whether an object is still (stationary), moving at a constant speed, accelerating, or decelerating.  The y -axis represents the distance travelled while the x -axis shows the time it takes to travel a distance such as that.

James went on a cycling ride. The travel graph shows James’s distance from home on this cycle ride. Find James’s speed for the first 60 minutes.

We are told that James is going on a cycling ride and that the distance he travelled is what is shown here. What is required of us is to find James’s speed for the first 60 minutes. This means you need to mark the point at 60 minutes on the x -axis as shown in the picture below.

We have learnt when learning about Speed, Time and Distance that speed = distance/ time.

Therefore, in a distance-time graph, the slope that we see (also called the gradient) is what will give us the speed.

We can see that this particular cycle has travelled 12 km in 60 minutes.

When we substitute these values into the formula above, it would look like this:

When this formula is solved, then we get James’s speed for the first 60 minutes , which is 0.2 km/min .

A train journey takes one hour. The diagram shows the speed-time graph for this journey. Calculate the total distance of this journey.

We need to be careful here because this time what we have in this question is a speed-time graph and not a distance-time graph.

In a speed-time graph, the gradient of a slope represents either acceleration or deceleration, which will be concepts touched upon in later lessons. The distance travelled is found by calculating the area under a speed-time graph.

In order to calculate the distance travelled by the train therefore, we need to calculate the area under the graph that is drawn. To make things easier, we can separate this graph into shapes:

2 triangles and 1 rectangle

Triangle 1: Area of a triangle = ½ × base of triangle × height of triangle Area = ½ × 4 km × 3 km/min Area = 6 km2

Rectangle: Length of the rectangle can be found by finding out the difference between 50 and 4, which equals to 46 min. The height of the rectangle is 3 km/min. Area = length × base Area = 46 min × 3 km/min Area = 138 km

Triangle 2: Area of a triangle = ½ × base of triangle × height of triangle Area = ½ × 10 km × 3 km/min Area = 15 km

Total Area under the graph = Total distance travelled by the train Therefore, Total Distance = Triangle 1 + Rectangle + Triangle 2 Total Distance = 6 km + 138 km + 15 km Total Distance =  159 km

Those are the basic tips and tricks you would need to learn in this particular chapter!

Travel Graphs at Exams

Pay attention to what sort of graph is given to you. Is it a distance-time graph? A speed-time graph? Depending on the type of graph, remember, the value represented by the gradient changes, and so does the value represented by the area under the graph.

Practice as many questions as you can on this topic. They are quite simple once you get the hang of them. You can find some questions in this quiz to check where you stand!

If you are struggling with IGCSE revision or the Mathematics subject in particular, you can reach out to us at Tutopiya to join revision sessions or find yourself the right tutor for you.

Watch the video below for a visual explanation of the lesson on the ultimate guide to travel graphs!

Kulni Gamage

See author's posts

Learn Anything, On Your Schedule

Designed for self-paced study, practice and revision

• Curated Study Resources
• 50000+ Practice Papers
• AI Exam Coach
• 200+ Topic Specific Videos

Join our community of 10,000+ students

Learn from the best teachers, an interactive learning platform, and a large library of engaging video sessions.

22 Changi Business Park Central 2, #02-08, Singapore, 486032,

All rights reserved ©2024 Tutopiya

Get Started

Learner guide

Tutor guide

IGCSE Tuition

IGCSE Revision & Exam Preparation

IB Revision & Exam Preparation

International AS & A-level Tuition

International AS & A-level Revision & Exam Preparation

Cambridge Lower Secondary Tuition

Cambridge Checkpoint Revision & Exam Preparation

Cambridge IGCSE Tuition

Edexcel IGCSE Tuition

Subjects & Curricula

IGCSE Maths Tuition

IGCSE Additional Math Tuition

IGCSE English Tuition

IGCSE English Literature Tuition

IGCSE Combined/Coordinated Science Tuition

IGCSE Physics Tuition

IGCSE Chemistry Tuition

IGCSE Biology Tuition

IGCSE Economics Tuition

IGCSE Business Studies Tuition

IGCSE Computer Science Tuition

A-level Maths Tuition

A-level Physics Tuition

A-level Biology Tuition

A-level Chemistry Tuition

A-level Economics Tuition

IB DP Maths Tuition

IB DP Physics Tuition

IB DP Chemistry Tuition

IB DP Biology Tuition

IB MYP Maths Tuition

IB MYP Science Tuition

IB MYP English Tuition

Cambridge Lower Secondary Maths Tuition

Cambridge Lower Secondary English Tuition

Cambridge Lower Secondary Science Tuition

Cambridge Primary Maths Tuition

Cambridge Primary English Tuition

Cambridge Primary Science Tuition

Privacy policy

Terms & Conditions

IGCSE Maths Resources

IGCSE English Language Resources

IGCSE English Literature Resources

IGCSE Physics Resources

IGCSE Chemistry Resources

IGCSE Biology Resources

IGCSE Economics Resources

IGCSE Business Studies Resources

IGCSE Computer Science Resources

IGCSE Additional Maths Resources

A-level Maths Resources

A-level Chemistry Resources

A-level Biology Resources

IB DP Maths Resources

IB DP Chemistry Resources

IB DP Biology Resources

Cambridge Lower Secondary Math Resources

Cambridge Lower Secondary English Resources

Cambridge Lower Secondary Science Resources

Fill out the form below and you will get webinar session's link by email.

Fill out the form below and we will email you the webinar video..

Maths with David

Year 7. travel graphs.

We use distance-time graphs to represent journeys. Time is always shown on the x-axis.

If we know the distance someone travelled during a period of time, we can calculate their speed, using speed = distance ÷ time.

Worked Example

Use the graph below to find the average speed during the fifth and sixth hours of a car journey:

(“example 4” in question 1 means the worked example above)

Share this:

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Copy shortlink
• Report this content
• View post in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar