Variables in Motion

Algebra 1 · Axiom Academy

Variables in Motion: The Delivery Route One relationship — distance = speed × time — runs a delivery truck's whole route. Put it in your hands. It's 8:00 AM : the truck rolls out of the depot with 6 stops spaced 20 miles apart — a 120-mile run that has to be done by 11:00 . Three things one relationship lets you do with that route. Pick the truck's speed, hit Go, and watch the run play out — the faster it drives, the sooner it finishes. That's distance = speed × time, live. Solve for the speed the route needs The dispatcher's question: you've got a fixed amount of driving time — what speed does the truck need to cover all 120 miles in it? Same relationship, rearranged — speed = distance ÷ time. Push the truck faster — is it worth it? Here's the dispatcher's real call: the truck's cruising at 60 — how much time does pushing it faster actually buy? Drag and watch the minutes saved shrink as the speed climbs. One relationship, three moves: run it , solve it , weigh it . Change one variable and the others move with it — that's what distance = speed × time models. Anywhere a steady rate piles up over time the same algebra works: pay = wage × hours , cost = price × quantity , data = speed × seconds .

This is the written version of the interactive lesson above. See the full Algebra 1 course.