KinematicswithGraphs(4)

　　The area of the shaded region, and consequently the change in velocity during this time interval, is 1 cm/s2 · 3 s = 3 cm/s to the right. This doesn’t mean that the velocity at t = 5 is 3 cm/s; it simply means that the velocity is 3 cm/s 美国GREater than it was at t = 2. Since we have not been given the velocity at t = 2, we can’t immediately say what the velocity is at t = 5.　　Summary of Rules for Reading Graphs　　You may have trouble recalling when to look for the slope and when to look for the area under the graph. Here are a couple handy rules of thumb:The slope on a given graph is equivalent to the quantity we get by dividing the y-axis by the x-axis. For instance, the y-axis of a position vs. time graph gives us displacement, and the x-axis gives us time. Displacement divided by time gives us velocity, which is what the slope of a position vs. time graph represents. The area under a given graph is equivalent to the quantity we get by multiplying the x-axis and the y-axis. For instance, the y-axis of an acceleration vs. time graph gives us acceleration, and the x-axis gives us time. Acceleration multiplied by time gives us the change in velocity, which is what the area between the graph and the x-axis represents.　　We can summarize what we know about graphs in a table:

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