MONSTER EQUATIONS 1
Wait for the applet to completely load, then click "(re)start".

Click '(re)start' to start. Then use 'pause' and 'steps' to take measurements from the picture, and enter the values below. Then click 'add point' for each pair. t = s x = m To draw the best line through the points and display a and b in y = ax+b, click 'best line':

A toy monster truck moves across the screen as shown in the animation (position is given in centimetres and time in seconds).
Your challenge is to find out the position of the truck after 16 seconds.

We cannot see the truck at 16 seconds! So we have to use the data that we have to formulate a model of the situation, and then use the model to find this unknown information.

To formulate a model, we must have an idea what kind of model (linear, quadratic, exponential ...) it is, and this is based on the behaviour of variables in the situation. Once we know what general kind of model it is, we have have techniques to calculate the spesific fomula.

One of the best clues about what kind of model it is, is to look at the graph of the variables. For example, if the graph is a straight line, the general formula of the model is y = ax + b and we can calculate a and b and then solve the problem.

So your task is to get information (it is time-position pairs) from the picture. The time is given, but we will have to measure the position:
Click (re)start" and then pause the movement and use the forward and backword steps for 1 second, 2 seconds, etc. Click in the picture to measure the horisontal position of the truck - the position is at the back of the truck, on the little red dot at the back.