Question

On the way to the mall Miguel rides his skateboard to get to the bus stop. He then waits a few minutes for the bus to come, then rides the bus to the mall. He gets off the bus when it stops at the mall and walks across the parking lot to the closest entrance. Which graph correctly models his travel time and distance?

Answer 1

C

Explanation:

Answer 2

In a distance versus time graph, the slope is speed. There's no apparent direction to the story so we have to assume every move is increasing distance, so the graph is non-decreasing. That rules out the first choice.

We get the relative speeds from the story:

Skateboard: medium

Wait: stopped

Bus: fast

Arrive at the mall: stop

Walk: slow

So we want positive slopes: medium, 0, big, 0, small

There shouldn't be any straight vertical lines, which represents instant transport, telelporting or something. So rule out the last graph.

The second graph in the first photo has a fast trip before the bus wait, which doesn't correspond to the story.

Choice C, the top graph of the second photo, tells Miguel's story.