Ceist Eile

Ceist Eile is in development. Features, questions and prices may change while we refine it.

Junior Cycle · Junior Cycle Maths

Junior Cycle Maths: Real-life graphs

How often Real-life graphs comes up on the Maths papers, every year it was asked, and questions to try.

HL Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

OL Asked on 5 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Real-life graphs, Higher Level(8 marks)

Quick ones on Real-life graphs.

(a)A distance–time graph has a horizontal section. What was happening then?
  1. The person was at constant speed
  2. The person was stopped
  3. The person was speeding up
(b)A taxi fare graph (€ against km) is a straight line with slope 1.5 and y-intercept 4. What does the 4 show?
  1. The first 4 km are free
  2. A charge of €4 per km
  3. A fixed €4 charge
(c)Water in a tank falls steadily from 800 litres to 200 litres in 30 minutes. At what rate does it fall?
  1. 20 litres per minute
  2. 6.7 litres per minute
  3. 26.7 litres per minute
Show the answers

(a) The person was stopped

(b) A fixed €4 charge

(c) 20 litres per minute

Your turn: Higher Level questions on Real-life graphs.

Higher Level

Asked on 3 of the last 5 Higher Level papers, most recently in 2025. most years

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Not asked
2025Q9
2024Not asked
2023Q2, Q11
2022Q10

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Real-life graphs questions

Real-life graphs, 3 marks

A cylindrical glass is filled from a tap at a steady rate. The graph of water depth against time is…

  1. a curve getting steeper
  2. a curve getting flatter
  3. a straight line
Show the answer

a straight line

The glass is the same width all the way up, so the depth rises by the same amount every second. A constant rate of change gives a straight line.

Real-life graphs, 3 marks

A graph shows a phone plan's monthly cost against minutes used. The fixed fee rises by €3. The new graph is the old one…

  1. made 3 times steeper
  2. moved up by 3
  3. moved right by 3
Show the answer

moved up by 3

Every cost goes up by €3 whatever the minutes, so each point moves up 3. The cost per minute (the slope) is unchanged, so the old and new lines are parallel.

Ordinary Level

Asked on 5 of the last 5 Ordinary Level papers, most recently in 2026. banker

Every paper, year by year

YearWhere it came up
2026Q4
2025Q13
2024Q4
2023Q5, Q9, Q11
2022Q4, Q8

Links open the State Examinations Commission’s paper for that year.

More Real-life graphs questions

Real-life graphs, 2 marks

On a distance–time graph, what does a horizontal section mean?

  1. It is moving at a steady speed
  2. It is speeding up
  3. The object is stopped
Show the answer

The object is stopped

Horizontal means time passes but the distance does not change, so the object is not moving. A straight sloping line means a steady speed.

Real-life graphs, 3 marks

A distance–time graph is a straight line from (0 h, 0 km) to (3 h, 180 km). What is the speed?

  1. 180 km/h
  2. 60 km/h
  3. 540 km/h
Show the answer

60 km/h

The slope of a distance–time graph is the speed: 180 km ÷ 3 h = 60 km/h.

Real-life graphs, 3 marks

A taxi fare graph meets the fare axis at €4 and rises €2 per km. What does the €4 show?

  1. The fixed starting charge
  2. The cost of each km
  3. The total fare for a 4 km trip
Show the answer

The fixed starting charge

The y-intercept is the value when x = 0. At 0 km the fare is already €4, so €4 is the fixed charge you pay before any distance.

Other Maths topics

All of Junior Cycle Maths