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Do you remember frames of reference?

Young strong man standing on head

Imagine what the world would look like if you were to stand on your head—things would look strange. It might even be a bit disorienting to stay like that for some time. From your perspective, everyone is upside-down—from theirs, you are upside-down. Who's right? Well, neither of you are wrong, however there are frames of reference that are the normal. Typically, we reference things from a fixed point on the surface of the Earth. That way, we can set up our axes of reference to describe motion relative to that fixed point and reference frame. Let's consider, though, that sometimes that frame of reference is different.

As a person hanging upside down, if you were asked to define the motion of an object that you see moving, your description would be different from someone who was standing right-side up. The motion of that object would also be described differently from someone who was walking by at a constant speed or moving in a car. The point is, motion is relative, or described in relation to the observer or how the frame of reference is defined. The motion of the object with respect to your point of reference is different than the motion described with respect to someone else.

tip stamp icon Frames of Reference

The Physical Science Study Committee created a video explaining Frames of Reference in 1960. Hume and Ivey, two professors from University of Toronto, created a television series on Physics. The pair were a household name in that time period because of their explanation of physics to the masses. Watch their video Frames of Reference for a thorough explanation of how frames of reference work in Physics.

Question

Can a point of frame of reference be moving?

Of course! In fact, even if you are considering a fixed point on the surface of the Earth as the point of reference, the Earth itself is moving relative to other objects in the universe. It would be a moving frame of reference relative to another frame of reference!