Practice Position in Physics

Use these practice problems to test your method after reviewing the concept explanation and worked examples.

Worksheet PDF Free Answer-key PDF Family

Quick Recap

The location of an object relative to a chosen reference point (origin), described using coordinates in a given reference frame.

Where something is, described by numbers from some starting point.

Showing a random 20 of 50 problems.

Example 1

medium

A ladybug starts at

x = 8 \text{ cm}

and walks until it reaches

x = -2 \text{ cm}

. Find the displacement.

Example 2

medium

A marker is at

x=15

m from gate A. Gate B is

9

m right of gate A. What is the marker's position measured from gate B?

Example 3

easy

On an axis where right is positive, a fly is

0.6 \text{ m}

to the LEFT of the origin. State its position coordinate.

Example 4

challenge

A train sits at position

x_T = +120 \text{ m}

in the platform frame. The platform frame moves at

+5 \text{ m/s}

relative to a car frame; at

t=0

the two frames' origins coincide. What is the train's position in the car frame at

t = 4 \text{ s}

(treat the train as instantaneously at rest in the platform frame)?

Example 5

medium

A bug's position is

x(t) = 2t + 1

(meters,

t

in seconds). What is its position at

t = 4 \text{ s}

Example 6

medium

A hiker's positions at three times are

x=0,\ 4,\ 1

m. Which is the maximum position and which the minimum?

Example 7

hard

Two cars share an

x

-axis. Car A's position is

x_A(t) = 5t

, car B's is

x_B(t) = 30 - 5t

(meters). At what time and position do they meet?

Example 8

medium

A mouse is at

x = 0.40 \text{ m}

relative to the corner of a desk. If the origin is moved

0.15 \text{ m}

to the right, what is the mouse's new position coordinate?

Example 9

medium

A cyclist's position is

x=3

m at the start and

x=11

m later, same frame. By inspection, on which side of the start is she now and how far along the axis?

Example 10

medium

A skateboarder's positions at

t = 0, 1, 2, 3 \text{ s}

are

0, 3, 8, 15 \text{ m}

. Is the motion uniform (constant velocity)?

Example 11

easy

A car is at the

20

km marker on a highway measured from town. State its position relative to town.

Example 12

easy

Two flags are placed at

x=10

m and

x=10

m in the same frame. Are they at the same position?

Example 13

challenge

A point moves so its position is

x=-3

m, then origin is redefined at

x=-3

m AND positive direction is reversed. What is the point's new coordinate?

Example 14

medium

A particle's position is given by

x(t) = 4t^2 - 2t + 1

(in meters, with

t

in seconds). What is the particle's position at

t = 0 \text{ s}

and

t = 3 \text{ s}

? What is the displacement between these times?

Example 15

easy

A bead is at

x=-4

cm. Is it left or right of the origin if right is positive?

Example 16

easy

Two pens lie on a desk. Pen A is at

x = 12 \text{ cm}

and pen B is at

x = 5 \text{ cm}

from the desk's left edge. Which pen is farther from the origin?

Example 17

easy

An ant sits 3 m left of the origin. Taking right as positive, what is its position?

Example 18

medium

A scientist tracks the position of a particle at three times:

x_1 = +4

x_2 = -2

x_3 = +1

meters. What is the largest absolute displacement between any pair of these readings?

Example 19

easy

A rock sits on the bottom of a pond,

2.5 \text{ m}

below the water surface. Taking the surface as origin and up as positive, what is the rock's position?

Example 20

medium

Town A is the origin. Town B is

40 \text{ km}

east of A. A truck is

25 \text{ km}

east of B. Find the truck's position in A's frame.

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Related Concepts

Displacement Velocity