Question

A graph titled Position versus time for 2 cars with horizontal axis time (seconds) and vertical axis position (meters). An orange line labeled A has a sharp upward slope. A blue line B has a slight downward slope.
Which statements best describe the motion of Car A and Car B? Check all that apply.

Car A and Car B are both moving toward the origin.
Car A and Car B are moving in opposite directions.
Car A is moving faster than Car B.
Car A and Car B started at the same location.
Car A and Car B pass each other at the crossover point on the graph.

Answer 1

Correct answers:
- Car A and Car B are moving in opposite directions.
- Car A is moving faster than Car B.
- Car A and Car B pass each other at the crossover point on the graph.

Why:
- The sign of the slope gives direction: A has a positive (upward) slope, B a negative (downward) slope — so they move in opposite directions.
- The steepness (magnitude) of the slope gives speed: A's slope is much steeper, so A's speed is greater.
- Where the two position–time lines cross they have the same position at the same time, so they meet/pass at that point.

The other statements are not supported: they did not necessarily start at the same location (their positions at t = 0 are different), and “both moving toward the origin” cannot be concluded from the slopes alone (one moves in the positive direction, the other in the negative).