Back Kinematics Mechanics Physics Contents Index Home
One dimensional motion is motion along a straight line.
Here is a VRML world showing an object moving along with a constant positive velocity:
Full Screen Animation
In the above animation we say that the displacement of the object is positive because the object's motion is toward greater and greater x-coordinates. That is, for any segment of the motion the later x coordinate, called x2, is greater than the former x coordinate, called x1. This makes the displacement, calculated with (x2 - x1), a positive value.