STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

Form groups of two to three people. Go on a 20 minute drive in which you cover various speeds. Each person should have at least one task. For example, one person is the driver, and should pay attention to only one thing -- driving. The other person or persons should concentrate on reading the odometer and speedometer, and record the data. For three person teams, make one person the observer, and the other the recorder. Make sure that the driver takes a route which allows for variability in speed. A poor route would be one that entailed a 20 minute cruise down a highway at a constant speed. Keep track of your route, the stops you made, and any events that may have affected your speed. Every 15 seconds, record your speed and distance traveled from the start. You'll have to round and/or interpolate to get the most accurate data. Graph the distance and velocity data against the same time scale on separate graphs. Then, connect the data points with a SMOOTH curve.

(1) Write a brief story about your trip describing what happened. Incorporate into your story any and all blips in your graphs carefully explaining what happened.

(2) Compare the graphs. Do you need both graphs, or could you recreate the trip from either graph separately? Explain.

Extra Credit: Produce a working method/device to measure the data as accurately as possible. Then, repeat steps one and two.