What term describes the area below a velocity-time graph?

The area below a velocity-time graph represents the displacement of an object over a given time interval. Displacement takes into account the direction of the object's movement as well as the distance covered. When you calculate the area under the curve on a velocity-time graph, you essentially sum up the contributions of the object's velocity over time, which gives you the net change in position from the start to the end of the interval.

When you look at the graph, if the line is above the time axis, it indicates forward motion, and the area corresponds to positive displacement. If there are sections below the time axis, that would represent motion in the opposite direction, contributing negatively to the overall displacement. This is critical in understanding how an object moves across a given period since displacement differs from distance, which measures the total path length without regard to direction.

The other terms, like distance, speed, and acceleration, do not accurately describe the concept represented by the area under the velocity-time graph. Distance refers simply to the length of the path traveled, speed is the magnitude of velocity without direction, and acceleration pertains to the change in velocity over time. Thus, the term that corresponds directly to the area below a velocity-time graph is displacement.