Texas TEKS 7.7.C

Science7th GradeForce, motion, and energy

The Standard

measure, record, and interpret an object's motion using distance-time graphs

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Science

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students measure an object's distance from a starting point at regular time intervals and record the data. They plot distance against time and use the graph to describe speed, stops, and changes in motion.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students label time on the horizontal axis and distance on the vertical axis, choose workable scales, and plot points accurately. They explain that steeper sections show faster motion and horizontal sections show no change in distance.
Common Misconceptions: Students may switch the axes or use uneven intervals on a scale. They may think the graph line shows the object's physical path. Some read a horizontal line as constant speed instead of a stopped object.
How to Assess It: Give students a distance-time graph with rising, horizontal, and steeper sections. Ask them to identify when the object stopped and when it moved fastest, then justify both answers.

Lesson moves

Roll a toy car past floor markers, record its distance every second, then create and interpret a distance-time graph.
Show two distance-time graphs and ask, “Which object moved faster, stopped, or changed speed, and what graph evidence proves it?”
Play graph matching cards by pairing motion stories, data tables, and distance-time graphs, then checking each match with a partner.
Use a school bus route schedule to graph distance from school over time, including travel, traffic stops, and arrival.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 7.7.C, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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