Question

A designer at a car company is testing new electric motors. The position of the car on the track as a function of time is graphed for two trials. How does the curvature of each function​ differ? What does this mean about the movement of the vehicle during the​ trial?
Trial A
0
2
4
0
2
4
x
y



x y graph
Trial B
0
2
4
0
2
4
x
y



x y graph
Question content area bottom
Part 1
Trial A is represented by
▼
a downward curve
a straight line
an upward curve
while Trial B is represented by
▼
an upward curve.
a downward curve.
a straight line.
This means that the car in Trial A
▼
is decelerating
is accelerating
has a constant speed
while the car in Trial B
▼
is decelerating.
has a constant speed.
is accelerating.

Answer 1

Trial A is represented by a downward curve, while Trial B is represented by an upward curve.

That means the car in Trial A is decelerating (velocity is decreasing), and the car in Trial B is accelerating (velocity is increasing).

Reason: the slope of a position–time graph is velocity. A concave‑down (downward) curve has a decreasing slope (negative acceleration), a concave‑up (upward) curve has an increasing slope (positive acceleration).