UPSC 1996: I. ‘A’ stood first in the race. II. ‘C’ led all the way. III. ‘D’ ran faster than others in the later part of the race. Of these statements

On a distance–time graph the fastest runner is the one whose curve reaches the finish‐distance line at the least time (lowest point on the Y-axis). • The curve labelled D meets the finish line first, so A did NOT stand first ⇒ statement I is false. • No single runner’s curve remains below all others for the whole race; C is sometimes overtaken ⇒ statement II is false. • In the later part of the race the slope of D’s curve is steepest and it finally finishes first, showing D ran faster than the others towards the end ⇒ statement III is true. Hence only statement III is true: option (b). ([edukemy.com](https://edukemy.com/blog/upsc-prelims-topic-wise-questions-physics-mechanics/))