A velocity time graph can tell us a great deal about the motion of the object that is being studied. Look at the graph on the left of a vehicle traveling North along a straight road.

From the graph, we can tell the following details:
- The car accelerates slowly over the first two hours, then starts to decelerate for the next 4 hours. The deceleration increases at the 6 hour mark.
- 8 hours after it started the journey, the car comes to a stop. It then travels South
- It reaches its maximum speed on its way back 12 hours into the journey at 20km/hr.
- It travels a distance of 210km before it starts its way back. This is calculated by calculating the distance under the graph between 0 and 8 hours.
- It stops 13 hours after it started 110 km from home. It only travels 100km on its way back as calculated by the area under the graph between the 8 and 13 hours.