What are travel graphs and how are they used in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics?

Travel graphs are a type of line graph used to represent the movement of an object over time, typically showing distance against time. In Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics, they help students understand concepts of speed, distance, and time, and how these quantities relate to each other. By analyzing travel graphs, students can interpret real-world scenarios and solve problems involving motion.

How do you interpret a travel graph in terms of speed?

In a travel graph, speed is represented by the gradient (slope) of the line. A steeper slope indicates a higher speed, while a flatter slope indicates a lower speed. If the line is horizontal, it means the object is stationary. By calculating the gradient, which is the change in distance divided by the change in time, students can determine the speed of the object at different intervals.

What is the significance of a horizontal line on a travel graph?

A horizontal line on a travel graph indicates that the object is not moving; its distance remains constant over time. This means the speed is zero. Understanding this helps students identify periods of rest or stops in a journey, which is crucial for solving problems related to travel and motion in the Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics curriculum.

How can you calculate the total distance traveled using a travel graph?

To calculate the total distance traveled using a travel graph, you need to sum up the distances covered during each segment of the journey. This can be done by identifying the vertical changes between points on the graph. Each segment's distance is the difference in the y-values (distance) between two points, and adding these differences gives the total distance traveled.

What does a curve on a travel graph indicate about the object's motion?

A curve on a travel graph indicates that the object's speed is changing over time. If the curve is getting steeper, the object is accelerating, meaning its speed is increasing. Conversely, if the curve is becoming less steep, the object is decelerating, or slowing down. Understanding curves is important for analyzing non-uniform motion in Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics.

Why is "Mixing up distance-time and speed-time graphs" a common mistake in Travel graphs?

Why it happens: Both have time on the horizontal axis; students forget which y-axis they're reading. How to avoid it: Always check the y-axis label. Distance-time → gradient is speed. Speed-time → gradient is acceleration, area is distance. Source: 0580 Extended — recurring

Why is "Excluding stationary periods from total time" a common mistake in Travel graphs?

Why it happens: Students focus on the moving sections. How to avoid it: Average speed uses **total** distance over **total** time, including stops.

Why is "Mixing m/s with km/h or seconds with minutes" a common mistake in Travel graphs?

Why it happens: Reading off a graph in km/h then computing area in seconds. How to avoid it: Convert units BEFORE doing the calculation. m/s ↔ km/h: multiply or divide by 3.6.

Why is "Computing area as just $v \times t$ for a non-rectangular region" a common mistake in Travel graphs?

Why it happens: Treating an acceleration phase as constant speed. How to avoid it: If the graph is sloped, the region is a triangle or trapezium — use the proper formula.

AlgebraCambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580)

Travel graphs

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Travel Graphs (Distance-Time and Speed-Time) — Cambridge IGCSE 0580 Maths Extended (2026)

Two graphs, two interpretations. Distance-time gradient = speed; speed-time area = distance. Master both and motion problems on Paper 4 become a 5-mark gift.

What you’ll learn

Mapped to the Cambridge IGCSE 0580 syllabus (2025-2027).

E2.16 — Construct, interpret and use travel graphs (distance-time and speed-time).

Distance-time graphs

Time on the x-axis, distance on the y-axis. Gradient gives speed.

Reading a distance-time graph.

Feature	Meaning
Straight line, positive gradient	Constant speed (away from start)
Straight line, negative gradient	Constant speed (returning toward start)
Horizontal line	Stationary
Steeper slope	Faster

The gradient between any two points is the AVERAGE SPEED over that interval: $\text{speed} = \dfrac{\Delta d}{\Delta t} = \dfrac{\text{change in distance}}{\text{change in time}}.$

Worked. A car travels $400$ m from $t = 0$ to $t = 80$ s, then stays parked from $80$ to $100$ s, then returns $400$ m from $100$ to $200$ s.

Outbound speed: $\dfrac{400}{80} = 5$ m/s.
Stationary: $0$ m/s.
Return speed: $\dfrac{400}{100} = 4$ m/s.

Total distance vs displacement. A $d$ - $t$ graph showing the runner returning to start has TOTAL distance $= 800$ m but final DISPLACEMENT $= 0$ .

Time on x, distance on y.
Gradient = speed.
Horizontal = stationary.
Returning curve has negative gradient (or graph drops back to 0).

Speed-time graphs

Time on the x-axis, speed on the y-axis. Gradient = acceleration; AREA UNDER = distance.

Reading a speed-time graph.

Feature	Meaning
Horizontal line	Constant speed
Positive gradient (rising)	Accelerating
Negative gradient (falling)	Decelerating
Returning to zero	Coming to a stop

Two formulas.

Gradient: $\text{acceleration} = \dfrac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}$ .
Area under the line: $\text{distance} = \int v \, dt$ (geometrically, sum of trapezia/rectangles/triangles).

Worked. A vehicle accelerates from rest to $20$ m/s over $5$ seconds, holds $20$ m/s for $10$ seconds, then decelerates uniformly to rest in $4$ seconds. Find the total distance.

The graph has three regions:

Triangle: $\dfrac{1}{2} \times 5 \times 20 = 50$ m.
Rectangle: $20 \times 10 = 200$ m.
Triangle: $\dfrac{1}{2} \times 4 \times 20 = 40$ m.

Total: $50 + 200 + 40 = 290$ m.

Acceleration in each phase.

Phase 1: $\dfrac{20 - 0}{5} = 4$ m/s $^{2}$ .
Phase 2: $0$ (constant speed).
Phase 3: $\dfrac{0 - 20}{4} = -5$ m/s $^{2}$ (deceleration).

Time on x, speed on y.
Gradient = acceleration.
Area under the curve = distance.
Use rectangles, triangles, and trapezia to compute areas.

Average speed and average acceleration

Total distance / total time. Watch units.

Average speed for a complete journey: $\bar{v} = \dfrac{\text{total distance}}{\text{total time}}.$

This is NOT the arithmetic mean of segment speeds — see the Speed/Distance/Time notes for the trap.

Average acceleration between two times: $\bar{a} = \dfrac{v_{\text{final}} - v_{\text{initial}}}{t_{\text{final}} - t_{\text{initial}}}.$

Unit conversions (covered in the Speed/Distance/Time notes):

km/h to m/s: divide by $3.6$ .
m/s to km/h: multiply by $3.6$ .
min to seconds: $\times 60$ .

Always check that the question's units match your computation.

Average speed = TOTAL distance / TOTAL time.
Average acceleration = $\Delta v / \Delta t$ .
Convert units BEFORE plugging in.
km/h to m/s: $\div 3.6$ .

How it’s examined

Travel graphs appear most years on Paper 4 as a 5-7 mark question, often combining $d$ - $t$ and $s$ - $t$ interpretation. Paper 2 has simpler 2-3 mark items. Examiner reports flag confusing $d$ - $t$ with $s$ - $t$ (mixing area and gradient), and computing simple-mean instead of total-distance-over-total-time for average speed.

Sources: Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics 0580 syllabus 2025-2027 (E2.16); 0580/42 Oct/Nov 2024 — Q11 (multi-leg speed-time); 0580 Examiner Reports 2022-2024. Last reviewed 2026-05-05.

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Step-by-step worked examples — Travel graphs

Step-by-step solutions to past-paper-style questions on travel graphs, written exactly the way a tutor would explain them at the board.

1Read a distance-time graph
Core• distance-time
Question
On a distance-time graph, a runner covers $400$ metres in $80$ seconds (constant speed). What is her speed in m/s and km/h?
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Speed = gradient = $\dfrac{\Delta d}{\Delta t}$ .
  $v = \dfrac{400}{80} = 5\,\text{m/s}$
2. Step 2
  Convert m/s → km/h by multiplying by $3.6$ .
  $5 \times 3.6 = 18\,\text{km/h}$
Answer
$5\,\text{m/s} = 18\,\text{km/h}$
2Average speed for a multi-stage journey
Extended• Adapted from 0580/42 May/Jun 2024 Q7• average speed
Question
A car travels $60\,\text{km}$ in $1\,\text{h}$ , stops for $30\,\text{min}$ , then travels $90\,\text{km}$ in $1.5\,\text{h}$ . Find the average speed for the whole journey.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Total distance.
  $60 + 90 = 150\,\text{km}$
2. Step 2
  Total time, including the stop.
  $1 + 0.5 + 1.5 = 3\,\text{h}$
3. Step 3
  Average speed.
  $\bar{v} = \dfrac{150}{3} = 50\,\text{km/h}$
Answer
$50\,\text{km/h}$
Examiner tip
Include the stationary period in total time. Excluding it gives a higher (wrong) average speed.
3Find acceleration from a speed-time graph
Extended• speed-time, acceleration
Question
A car accelerates uniformly from $5\,\text{m/s}$ to $25\,\text{m/s}$ in $4\,\text{seconds}$ . Find the acceleration.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Acceleration = gradient of speed-time graph.
  $a = \dfrac{\Delta v}{\Delta t} = \dfrac{25 - 5}{4} = 5\,\text{m/s}^{2}$
Answer
$a = 5\,\text{m/s}^{2}$
4Distance from a speed-time graph
Extended• Adapted from 0580/42 Oct/Nov 2024 Q12• area, distance
Question
A car accelerates from rest to $20\,\text{m/s}$ in $4\,\text{s}$ , then travels at $20\,\text{m/s}$ for $10\,\text{s}$ , then decelerates to rest in $6\,\text{s}$ . Find the total distance travelled.
Step-by-step solution
1. Step 1
  Distance = area under the speed-time graph. The shape is a trapezium with parallel sides $10$ and $4 + 10 + 6 = 20$ .
2. Step 2
  Trapezium area.
  $\text{Area} = \tfrac{1}{2}(a + b) \times h = \tfrac{1}{2}(10 + 20)(20) = 300$
Answer
$300\,\text{m}$
Examiner tip
The trapezium method works whenever the graph has a constant-speed plateau between acceleration and deceleration. Decompose into triangles + rectangle if the shape is awkward.

Key Formulae — Travel graphs

The formulae you need to memorise for travel graphs on the Cambridge IGCSE 0580 paper, with every variable defined in plain English and a note on when to use it.

Speed from distance-time graph
$v = \dfrac{\Delta d}{\Delta t}$
When to use
Gradient of a distance-time graph gives the speed at that interval.
Acceleration from speed-time graph
$a = \dfrac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}$
When to use
Gradient of a speed-time graph gives the acceleration.
Distance from speed-time graph
$d = \text{area under the graph}$
When to use
Area = total distance for that section. Decompose into triangles, rectangles or trapezia.
Trapezium area
$A = \dfrac{1}{2}(a + b) \times h$
$a, b$
lengths of the two parallel sides
$h$
perpendicular distance between them
When to use
Common shape under speed-time graphs with a plateau.

Key Definitions and Keywords — Travel graphs

Definitions to memorise and the exact keywords mark schemes credit for travel graphs answers — sharpened from recent examiner reports for the 2026 0580 sitting.

Distance-time graph
Examiner keyword
Graph with time on the horizontal axis and distance from start on the vertical axis. Gradient = speed.
Speed-time graph
Examiner keyword
Graph with time on the horizontal axis and speed on the vertical axis. Gradient = acceleration; area = distance.
Acceleration
Examiner keyword
Rate of change of speed (m/s²). Constant gradient on a speed-time graph means uniform acceleration.
Deceleration
Negative acceleration — speed is decreasing over time. Shown as a downward-sloping segment on a speed-time graph.
Stationary section
On a distance-time graph: horizontal line (no distance covered). On a speed-time graph: zero speed segment.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions — Travel graphs

The traps other students keep falling into on travel graphs questions — taken from recent Cambridge IGCSE 0580 examiner reports and mark schemes — and how to avoid them.

✕Mixing up distance-time and speed-time graphs
0580 Extended — recurring
Why it happens
Both have time on the horizontal axis; students forget which y-axis they're reading.
How to avoid it
Always check the y-axis label. Distance-time → gradient is speed. Speed-time → gradient is acceleration, area is distance.
✕Excluding stationary periods from total time
Why it happens
Students focus on the moving sections.
How to avoid it
Average speed uses total distance over total time, including stops.
✕Mixing m/s with km/h or seconds with minutes
Why it happens
Reading off a graph in km/h then computing area in seconds.
How to avoid it
Convert units BEFORE doing the calculation. m/s ↔ km/h: multiply or divide by $3.6$ .
✕Computing area as just $v \times t$ for a non-rectangular region
Why it happens
Treating an acceleration phase as constant speed.
How to avoid it
If the graph is sloped, the region is a triangle or trapezium — use the proper formula.

Practice questions

Exam-style questions with step-by-step worked solutions. Try one before checking the method.

Past paper style quiz

Get a report showing which sub-topics you've nailed and which ones still need work.

Video lesson

Short walkthrough of the concepts students most often get stuck on.

Travel graphs — frequently asked questions

The things students keep getting wrong in this sub-topic, answered.

Feature

Meaning

Straight line, positive gradient

Constant speed (away from start)

Straight line, negative gradient

Constant speed (returning toward start)

Horizontal line

Stationary

Steeper slope

Faster

Feature

Meaning

Horizontal line

Constant speed

Positive gradient (rising)

Accelerating

Negative gradient (falling)

Decelerating

Returning to zero

Coming to a stop

Travel graphs

Short Study Notes in the form of Slides

Detailed Study Notes

What you’ll learn

How it’s examined

1Read a distance-time graph

2Average speed for a multi-stage journey

3Find acceleration from a speed-time graph

4Distance from a speed-time graph

Speed from distance-time graph

Acceleration from speed-time graph

Distance from speed-time graph

Trapezium area

Distance-time graph

Speed-time graph

Acceleration

Deceleration

Stationary section

✕Mixing up distance-time and speed-time graphs

✕Excluding stationary periods from total time

✕Mixing m/s with km/h or seconds with minutes

✕Computing area as just v×tv \times tv×t for a non-rectangular region

Practice questions

Past paper style quiz

Assess your understanding

Video lesson

Travel graphs — frequently asked questions

Travel graphs

Short Study Notes in the form of Slides

Detailed Study Notes

What you’ll learn

How it’s examined

1Read a distance-time graph

2Average speed for a multi-stage journey

3Find acceleration from a speed-time graph

4Distance from a speed-time graph

Speed from distance-time graph

Acceleration from speed-time graph

Distance from speed-time graph

Trapezium area

Distance-time graph

Speed-time graph

Acceleration

Deceleration

Stationary section

✕Mixing up distance-time and speed-time graphs

✕Excluding stationary periods from total time

✕Mixing m/s with km/h or seconds with minutes

✕Computing area as just v×tv \times tv×t for a non-rectangular region

Practice questions

Past paper style quiz

Assess your understanding

Video lesson

Travel graphs — frequently asked questions

✕Computing area as just $v \times t$ for a non-rectangular region

✕Computing area as just $v \times t$ for a non-rectangular region