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How to Plot Velocity Profile

Mathematics is a fundamental subject and much of what is learned in the early years is used throughout life. Mechanics is an application of mathematics and involves the study of moving objects. One of the key aspects of mechanics is the description of an object's position, velocity and acceleration. These are generally described in a visual format by plotting a x-y graph. A velocity profile is a graph which shows the variation of an object's velocity with time.

Things You'll Need

Graph paper
Ruler

Instructions

- 1
  Draw a table with two columns. Label the heading of the first column "Time (s)" and the heading of the second column "Velocity (m/s)". Place the values for time and velocity into the relevant columns.
- 2
  Draw the axes on the graph paper. The horizontal (x) axis should be labeled "Time (s)" and the vertical (y) axis should be labeled "Velocity (m/s).
- 3
  Look at the range of values written in the table. Find the minimum and maximum time and velocity. Subtract the maximum time/velocity from the minimum time/velocity. This will give a range. Find a suitable value that divides exactly into the range in order to find a scale.
- 4
  Find the first value for time on the x-axis and the first value of velocity on the y-axis. Draw a cross at the intersection of the two values. Repeat this for each of the values in the table. Using a ruler, draw lines in between adjacent points to complete the velocity profile.

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