Graphing Stories | Easing the Hurry Syndrome - Free Printable

Explanation:
We are given a distance–time graph and three stories (A, B, C). We need to find which story matches the graph.

Let’s look at the graph shape:

- The graph starts at the origin (distance = 0, time = 0) → Tom starts at home.
- First segment: steep upward line → distance increases quickly → Tom is moving fast away from home.
- Second segment: less steep upward line → distance still increases, but more slowly → Tom is still going away from home, but now slower.
- Third segment: steep downward line back to distance = 0 → Tom returns home quickly.

So overall:
1. Fast away from home
2. Slower away from home
3. Fast back home

Now check each story:

A. Tom took his dog for a walk to the park.
- Set off *slowly* → should be shallow slope first.
- Then *increased pace* → steeper slope.
- At park, turned around and walked *slowly* back → gentle downward slope.
✘ Doesn’t match: graph shows *fast* start, then *slower*, then *fast* return — opposite of this story.

B. Tom rode his bike east up a steep hill.
- Steep hill → *fast* climbing? Wait — actually, biking *up* a steep hill is usually *slow*, not fast. But the story says:
- “rode his bike east from home up a steep hill” → likely slow (steep hill = hard to go fast)
- “after a while the slope eased off” → easier → he goes faster
- “at the top he raced down the other side” → fast downhill return
So: slow → faster → very fast back
But the graph shows: fast → slower → fast
That doesn’t match either — unless we misread “steep hill” as causing *fast* motion, which is unlikely. Biking up a steep hill is *hard*, so speed is low. So first part should be shallow slope, not steep. ✘

C. Tom went for a jog.
- At the end of his road he bumped into a friend and his pace slowed.
→ So:
- First part: jogging normally → decent speed → steeper slope
- Then slowed when meeting friend → shallower slope (still moving away, but slower)
- When he left his friend, he walked *quickly* back home.
→ Quick return = steep downward slope

This matches:
✔ Fast away (jogging)
✔ Slower away (talking to friend)
✔ Fast back (walked quickly home)

Note: “walked quickly” can still be faster than the slowed jog — especially if the earlier jog was already slowed due to chatting.

So story C fits the graph best.

Final Answer: C