Vibe Simulation

Transcript

To understand motion, we must first understand where things are. Let's begin by defining our world: a simple, straight line.
Every journey needs a starting point, a reference from which all measurements are made. We call this the Origin.
Now, imagine a particle in this world. Its location at any moment is its position. Here, its position is x₁, which is -4 units.
If our particle moves, its position changes. Let's say it travels from its initial position, x₁, to a final position, x₂... at +5.
This change in position is what physicists call displacement. It's not just a number; it's a vector—an arrow that points from the start to the finish, capturing both the distance and the direction of the change.
We calculate displacement, delta x, by subtracting the initial position from the final position. In this case, 5 minus -4 gives us a displacement of +9 units.
But what if the journey wasn't a straight line? What if our particle took a more scenic route, yet ended up at the exact same final position?
Notice that even though the path was different, the displacement—the net change from start to finish—remains exactly the same. This is the power of a vector.
And because it's a vector, direction is crucial. A journey from +6 to -2 results in a displacement arrow pointing to the left...
...and a negative value, -8, perfectly capturing that the overall change was in the negative direction.

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