<p align="right">Last Update: <font color="#4f81bd">July, 25, 2024</font></p> On a velocity-time graph, the velocity is on the y-axis and time is on the x-axis. A velocity-time graph might provide displacement, velocity, and acceleration. [](https://docs.google.com/drawings/u/0/d/sUwQE3k2_aw5vIkiwzwCf6Q/image?w=191&h=193&rev=1&ac=1&parent=1yAPuP9uJrLKqzLf2uXutXkkMDGTeO0G5cvr7W8rpUUE) Figure 1 shows constant velocity. There is no acceleration. Displacement can be determined by taking the area under the curve. [](https://docs.google.com/drawings/u/0/d/sRdTBVkcF0NRCqrjQ7GAFew/image?w=191&h=193&rev=1&ac=1&parent=1yAPuP9uJrLKqzLf2uXutXkkMDGTeO0G5cvr7W8rpUUE) Figure 2 shows uniform acceleration motion (UAM). The line on the graph shows acceleration. A straight line with a slope shows constant acceleration; a curved line shows that acceleration is changing. If the slope is a positive number then there is positive acceleration. A negative slope is a negative acceleration. A slope with a small number suggests a small acceleration. A slope with the large number suggests a large acceleration. The area under the curve shows displacement. In AP Physics 1, students simply use the area of a rectangle or triangle to find the displacement. The area is also helpful in deriving equations for solving kinematic problems. AP Physics C students will use Calculus. --- Return [[Home|Home]]