20.3 Graphing Stories

Activity 20.3.1 – Matching stories with graphs

Examine the graphs in figure 20.9.   Identify the graph that best represents each of the following stories.

(1) A commuter bus stops at a series of major intersections.

(2) A swinging pendulum experiences substantial friction.

(3) A driver cautiously accelerates from a stop sign and enters a freeway.

(4) A rocket engine fires continuously on a spacecraft in orbit around the earth.

Activity 20.3.2 – Creating stories from graphs

Figures 20.10A-D are distance versus time graphs for runners in a marathon.  Write a plausible story for each runner that can explain the corresponding graph.  Figures 20.10E-H plot the water level in a small child’s swimming pool as a function of time on each of three days.  Write a story to explain each.

Activity 20.3.3 – Creating graphs from stories

Draw graphs of each of the following stories.  Analyze the story, select the appropriate x-axis (independent variable) and y-axis (dependent variable), and plot a rough graph.

(1) Dribbling a basketball.

(2) Traveling up the lift hill and down the first drop of a roller coaster.

(3) Money is placed in the bank at a constant rate of interest.

(4) A thermostatically controlled air conditioner is turned on in a warm room.

(5) The movement of bridesmaids in a wedding march.

(6) The height of grass of a well-maintained lawn during growing season.

(7) The radioactive decay of the unstable isotope, uranium-238.

(8) A trumpet player practicing his or her scales from middle C to high C and back twice.

(9) The speed of an orbiting spacecraft.

(10) The population growth of mice introduced to a very small island.  The population is ultimately limited by the food supply.