A negative slope results when an individual is moving toward the origin.
A positive slope results when an individual is moving away from the origin.
The slope of the line gives the velocity of the individual.
Explanation:
In a position-time graph, the position is represented on the y-axis (distance from the origin), while the time is represented on the x-axis. Let's analyze each statement:
A negative slope results when an individual is moving toward the origin. --> TRUE. In fact, a negative slope means that the value on the y is decreasing as the time passes, so the distance of the individual is decreasing as the time increases, therefore the person is moving towards the origin.
A horizontal line on the graph means the individual is moving at the same velocity. --> FALSE. A horizontal line means that the position of the individual is constant, so the person is not moving.
A positive slope results when an individual is moving away from the origin. --> TRUE. In this case, the value on the y is increasing with time, so the distance of the person from the origin is increasing with time.
The slope of the line gives the velocity of the individual. --> TRUE. In a position-time graph, the velocity of the individual is equal to the ratio between the displacement and the time taken. But the displacement corresponds to the increase in the y-value, while the time corresponds to the increase in the x-value, so the velocity corresponds to the slope of the graph. In order to know velocity, we must also know the direction of the motion.
The speed of an individual cannot be determined from this type of graph. --> FALSE. The speed is equal to the slope of the position-time graph (in fact, the speed is the magnitude of the velocity)
