Question

erica is learning to drive, so her dad took her to a large, empty parking lot where she can practice. erica slowly starts driving, accelerating until she reaches and maintains a good speed. halfway across the lot, she stops briefly to practice braking. then, she repeats the process: accelerating, finding a good constant speed, and slowly coming to a stop. which graph could show ericas speed over time?

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze the driving process

Erica starts from rest, so speed is 0 initially. Then she accelerates, so the speed - time graph should have an upward - sloping part.

Step2: Consider constant speed phase

After accelerating, she reaches a constant speed. So, the graph should have a horizontal part.

Step3: Analyze braking phase

She then brakes, so the speed decreases and the graph should have a downward - sloping part.

Step4: Consider repetition

She repeats the process. So, the pattern of acceleration - constant speed - deceleration should repeat.

Answer:

The top - left graph. It shows an initial increase in speed (acceleration), then a horizontal line for the constant speed phase, followed by a decrease in speed (braking), and then this pattern repeats.