How to Create an Average Velocity vs. Time Graph from Collected Data Points

[ccsmarty]

Homework Statement

Make a graph of the average velocity vs. time using data points collected.

Data points:
(0.8023 s, 0.606 m)
(0.9027 s, 0.710 m)
(1.0031 s, 0.816 m)
(1.1035 s, 0.912 m)
(1.2039 s, 1.023 m)
*s = seconds
*m = meters

Homework Equations

Avg. Velocity = (x-x0)/(t-t0)

The Attempt at a Solution

I calculated the average velocity for each segment (ie. from point 1 to point 2 and so on), but I'm not sure how to come up with the time component of the ordered pair of the average velocity points.

 

[learningphysics]

You'd plot the average velocity over the time you calculated for... for example the average velocity you got using (0.8023 s, 0.606 m) and (0.9027 s, 0.710 m)... you plot that average velocity number over the times 0.8023s to 0.9027s...

So you'll have a bunch of horizontal straight line segments...

 

[Mindscrape]

So I presume you started with

\frac{x_1 - x_0}{t_1 - t_0} = v_1 = .606/.802

This gives the average velocity of the time interval [0, .802]. So whatever the average velocity is you should have that value go from 0 to .802. Does this help? I'm not really sure what you mean.

 

[andrevdh]

Rather calculate the average velocity with

v_{avg} = \frac{x_{n+1} - x_n }{t_{n+1} - t_n}

It is not clear from your data what is given, the change in distance and time, or just the distance and time. My guess is that it is the second case.

Take the time for the average speed in the middle of each time interval, that is the time from the beginning up to the middle of the interval where the average speed was calculated.

 

[ccsmarty]

The data is just the distance that a cart traveled along a track at different times.
And thanks for the help everyone, I hope I can figure out with your advice. :)

 

[Feldoh]

I don't really get it... ARe you supposed to graph the points and find a least squares regression, are are you actually calculating the average velocity? If you're calculating the average velocity you need to give a time interval...