ISSUES IN THE SOLUTION

While the problem calls for groups of two or three, three is ideal and four works fine for this project too. Try to keep the group size no greater than four, however, since the problem is relatively easy to do and you want to keep everyone involved.

Since this problem is fairly easy for the students, I warn them that they must use proper grammar in their story and explanations. Neatness should also be stressed. Some students may wish to graph the data on computers. This is fine, but warn them again against connecting the dots with straight lines.

In every case that I have seen, the graphs that the students create show that the speed graph is (quite amazingly, actually) very squiggly, while the distance graph is smooth and increasing. This offers an opportunity to discuss smoothing issues associated with integration and some of the properties of integration versus differentiation.

Especially in the days of computer plotting utilities, most students will graph their data on a machine. If it is important to you that the graphs be smooth, students should be offered methods for creating a smooth plot with ease since the mathematics behind the curve fitting created in our solution is beyond the scope of the problem.
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