When graphing motion, the steepness of the line represents:
A. The distance the object has traveled
B. The inertia of an object
C. The direction that the object is traveling
E. The relative speed of the object
E. The relative speed of the object
In a traditional graph of motion, such as a distance-time graph, the steepness (or slope) of the line represents the speed of the object. A steeper line indicates a higher speed, whereas a less steep line indicates a lower speed. A horizontal line would represent an object that is stationary, with no change in distance over time. It's important to distinguish between speed and velocity here as well; speed is scalar and does not have direction, whereas velocity is vector and does have direction. The slope gives you the magnitude of the speed or velocity, but the direction of the object's motion in space would actually be determined by examining the object's trajectory or by utilizing a position-time graph or a velocity-time graph for more detailed direction information.