Position

What Is Position? Position – A location or place Position is the location of something.

The location is determined by reference points.

Reference points can be many different things. We could say that the city pool is by Riverview, and in this case, Riverview would be the reference point. You could also say that Sheboygan is located at 43°45′0″N 87°43′30″W, and in that case, the reference point would be 0° 0°.

Where Is My House?

If I were to explain where my house is, I could give you my address, the coordinates, or other things, but it would be easier to use relative locations that are known to a lot of people, because then it would be easier to find the general area.

Example – Where Is My House?

The easiest way to describe the location would be to say that it is near the Parnell Tower in Mitchell, Wisconsin.

After that you would have to use more specific directions. When you find the Parnell Tower, go directly south until you reach the nearest road.

Take that road west and then turn south at the first intersection.

Keep taking that road south past the next road, and my driveway is the second one on the left.

Exact Location

A very specific way to find the location of something would be to give the latitude and longitude points or the address.

The exact location of my house is 43°41’07.71”N, 88°04’56.27”W

The address, which is another form of position, is N4019 w hwy A Cascade, WI 53011

Lab

Objective This lab is to show that you find

position by using reference points.

Materials Partner Something small to hide around the

room.

Steps Get a partner and decide which one of

you will be hiding something around the room.

The person who hid something will give their partner reference points for them to figure out where the item is.

Switch after the first person guesses it right.

End Result At the end, you will find that it is a lot

easier if you give very specific directions rather than saying something that is really general. You will also find that you need to have reference points to find position. You’re not able to say, “it’s over there,” because they will never know where “over there” is.