30 Graphs of rates of change

Prior knowledge
Students will be aware of how to draw line graphs. They will be able to construct tables of values and
plot linear functions and will be able to recognise straight line graphs parallel to an axis.

Objectives overview
Objective Student’s Workbook Teacher’s Online
Learning objective code Book pages pages Guide pages resources
Read and interpret graphs 7As.07 237–246 92 135–140 Flashcards
related to rates of change. Unit 30
Explain why they have a
Knowledge
specific shape.
test Unit 30
End of
Section 3 test

Background information
In this unit, students learn about graphs that can represent real-life situations. They learn to interpret
graphs without labels from their shapes. They plot their own graphs given measurements and
answer questions and draw conclusions about them.

Terminology
The unit starts by introducing a straight-line distance–time graph. The idea of ‘constant speed’
is discussed.

Lesson ideas
The unit starts by introducing a straight-line distance–time graph. The idea of ‘constant speed’
is discussed. One of the questions in Exercise 30.1 could be shown on a poster made by students.
The unit is in detail and can be used as a lesson plan.

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 SECTION 3

Starter activity
Story graphs
1 Match the graphs with the stories.

A
B C

D
F
*
E

i Amount of birthday money saved against amount of birthday money spent

ii Number of words written for an essay against time after starting essay
iii Cost of petrol against number of litres of petrol bought
iv Amount earned on a delivery round against number of items delivered
v Amount of money in a bank account against time
vi Length of candle against time the candle is burnt for
2 Give a possible reason for the dip marked by * on graph E.
3 Why are the points on graph C not joined up?
4 Make up your own graph and write a story to go with it.
Answers
1 i D   ii E   iii B   iv C   v A   vi F
2 Some of the words in the essay have been erased and then rewritten.
3 The number of items delivered can only be specific values, i.e. it is discrete data, not continuous.
4 Students’ own answers.

TWM activity notes

Exercise 30.1 is explained here as an exemplar of Thinking and Working Mathematically (TWM) as
detailed in the Introduction to the Teacher's Guide, page xi. Students have been introduced to real-
life graphs in the context of travel graphs involving distance and time. The significance of a straight-
line distance–time graph has also been introduced.
Q2 The distance–time graph below shows the motion of a train over a period of time.

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 30 Graphs of rates of change
Distance (m)

Time (s)

Choose the statement below which best describes the motion of the train. Justify your choice.
i) The train is travelling at a constant speed.
ii) The train has stopped.
iii) The train is travelling on flat ground.
iv) The train is travelling in a straight line.
This question probes the real understanding students have of the meaning of the shape of a
distance–time graph. Four scenarios are given, three of which are in fact common misconceptions
students have about the shape of the graph. In addition to asking students to justify their choice,
the ‘Let’s talk’ box also asks students to explain why they rejected the other three options. Being
able to articulate their reasons here is key to demonstrating their level of understanding.
TWM characteristics:  Specialising  Convincing   Characterising  Classifying  Critiquing
This question if written in a standard way could have been presented as follows:
Q2 The distance–time graph below shows the motion of a train over a period of time.
14
13
12
11
10
9
Distance (m)

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22

Time (s)

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 SECTION 3

a How far has the train travelled after 5 seconds?

b How far has the train travelled after 20 seconds?
c What do you think a horizontal line means on a distance–time graph?
The conclusion that a horizontal line implies that the train is stationary is the same in both
versions. However, the TWM version provides other possibilities which test the depth of a student’s
understanding. In this case, the fact that the train has not moved has been highlighted in the
solutions to parts (a) and (b).

Student’s Book answers

Exercise 30.1 (page 239) 6 a 7 a.m.

1 Graph B as the slope of the graph is least. b i 50 km ii 50 km/h
This means the rate of change of distance c 8 a.m. d 1 hour
with time is the smallest of the three e 50 km f 25 km/h
graphs. g 100 km/h h 5 hours
2 ii The train has stopped. This is because i 200 km j 40 km/h
the graph shows the distance
7 a Salesman’s journey
unchanged over time. 200
3 i The cyclist is travelling at a constant
Distance from
home (km)
150
speed
100
ii The cyclist is travelling back to a point.
50
As the graph is a straight line it implies
0
a constant speed. As the distance is
07:00
08:00
09:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00
17:00
decreasing with time, the cyclist is
returning to a fixed point. Time
4 a 6.25 s b 40 m
1
c 8.75 s d 64 m b 63 km/h
e 81.25 s f 480 m 3
8 a Train journey
g 125 s h 2400 m 400
i 68.75 s j 28 800 m (28.8 km)
Distance from start (km)

350
5 120 300
110 250
100
200
90
80 150
Distance (m)

70 100
60 50
50
0
40
07:00
08:00
09:00
10:00
11:00
12:00
13:00
14:00
15:00
16:00

30
20 Time
10
0 b 15 : 15
0 2 4 6 8 10 9 a Students’ own lines. Second line must
Time (s)
end at 14:00.
b Students’ calculations

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 30 Graphs of rates of change

Exercise 30.2 (page 245)

1 a Total number of people
50 000
45 000
40 000
Number of people

35 000
30 000
25 000
20 000
15 000
10 000
5000
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
Time after gates open (minutes)
b About 29 000 c About 29 000 − 14 000 = 15 000
2 a Total number of coffees sold
350
300
Total number sold

250
200
150
100
50
0
08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
Time of day

b About 110
c Between 12:00 and 13:00, as this is the steepest part of the graph.
d About 290 − 125 = 165
3 a Temperature of pool
60
50
Temperature (°C)

40
30
20
10
0
09:00 15:00 21:00 03:00 09:00 15:00 21:00 03:00 09:00 15:00 21:00
Monday Tuesday Wednesday
Time of day
b About 35 °C c About 06:00 on Tuesday
d At the start (09:00 on Monday), as this is the steepest part of the curve.
4 a A – Graph 4 b Student’s container, similar to Container E upside down.
B – Graph 6
C – Graph 2
D – Graph 1
E – Graph 5

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 SECTION 3

Workbook answers
Exercises 30.1–30.2 (page 92) • The coach is then stationary for
1 a 3 or more of any of the following points: 12 minutes.
• The coach is travelling at a constant • The coach travels for 20 minutes and
speed for the first 20 minutes for travels 40 miles.
20 miles. b 20 minutes
• The coach is stationary for 8 minutes. c 10 miles
• The coach is then travelling for 1 hour d 88 minutes
at a constant speed, this speed is
lower than the first 20 minutes.

Section 3 – Review
1 a −2, −1 b n-8 c 92 7 A C
2 a 70% b 8.3% (2 s.f.)
y=x−2 y = 3x
3 a Accept a rotation of this view
F B
E
D

8 32.8 mm × 58.4 mm
9 19 rolls
10 a i Graph Y
b ii It shows the depth decreasing
steadily for a bit (when he is filling
up the watering can), then remaining
the same (when he is walking around
watering his plants).
b i Graph X
ii The last part of the graph is a
horizontal line above the x-axis. This
4 means the depth is unchanged over
F − 27 d
time, but that there is still water in the
5 C (9, −1) water butt.
6 49 = 62 + 33 + 22

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