# A cyclist travels along a straight, flat road. For the first part of the journey the cyclist moves at a steady velocity. The cyclist then speeds up before slowing down and stopping. Describe what a velocity-time graph of this entire journey would look like, and state what feature of the graph could be used to find the total distance travelled.

> Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1) — 1.2 Movement and position · Describe · 4 marks

## Mark scheme (4 marks)

1. Horizontal (flat) line at a constant, non-zero value represents the first section of steady velocity
2. Positive gradient (line sloping upwards) represents the cyclist speeding up / accelerating
3. Negative gradient (line sloping downwards) ending at zero represents the cyclist decelerating and stopping
4. The area under the line (between the line and the time axis) gives the total distance travelled

## Key terms

- [velocity-time graph](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/velocity-time-graph)
- [distance](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/glossary/distance)

## Related

- [Revision notes for Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Physics (4PH1)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/learn)
- [How to answer "Describe" questions](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/tools/command-word-cheatsheet)
- [Practice this with AI marking (free)](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/start)

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Source: [GradeNine](https://www.gradenine.co.uk/q/a-cyclist-travels-along-a-straight-64f0c5ea) · Published by Druglandscape Ltd.