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In physics, motion is when an object changes its position with respect to a reference point in a given time. Motion is mathematically described in terms of displacement , distance , velocity , acceleration , speed , and frame of reference to an observer, measuring the change in position of the body relative to that frame with a change in time.
In physics, engineering and construction, the direction designated as vertical is usually that along which a plumb-bob hangs. Alternatively, a spirit level that exploits the buoyancy of an air bubble and its tendency to go vertically upwards may be used to test for horizontality. A water level device may also be used to establish horizontality
Geometric terms of location describe directions or positions relative to the shape of an object. These terms are used in descriptions of engineering, physics, and other sciences, as well as ordinary day-to-day discourse. Though these terms themselves may be somewhat ambiguous, they are usually used in a context in which their meaning is clear.
In mathematics and physics, the right-hand rule is a convention and a mnemonic, utilized to define the orientation of axes in three-dimensional space and to determine the direction of the cross product of two vectors, as well as to establish the direction of the force on a current-carrying conductor in a magnetic field.
Newton's laws are often stated in terms of point or particle masses, that is, bodies whose volume is negligible. This is a reasonable approximation for real bodies when the motion of internal parts can be neglected, and when the separation between bodies is much larger than the size of each.
One may compare linear motion to general motion. In general motion, a particle's position and velocity are described by vectors, which have a magnitude and direction. In linear motion, the directions of all the vectors describing the system are equal and constant which means the objects move along the same axis and do not change direction.
Three line segments with the same direction. In geometry, direction, also known as spatial direction or vector direction, is the common characteristic of all rays which coincide when translated to share a common endpoint; equivalently, it is the common characteristic of vectors (such as the relative position between a pair of points) which can be made equal by scaling (by some positive scalar ...
Momentum is a vector quantity: it has both magnitude and direction. Since momentum has a direction, it can be used to predict the resulting direction and speed of motion of objects after they collide. Below, the basic properties of momentum are described in one dimension.