ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Reference frame

Imagine you're playing a game of tag with your friends. The person who is "it" has to chase and tag the other players. Now, let's say you're standing still watching the game from the sidelines. From your perspective, you can see all the players running around and you can see who is "it" and who isn't. This is called your reference frame.

But, let's say you start moving around while watching the game. Now, the players are moving relative to you and it might be harder to tell who is "it" and who isn't. This is because your reference frame has changed.

In science, we use reference frames to describe how things move and interact with each other. Just like in the game of tag, the reference frame you choose can change the way you see things moving. Different reference frames can give us different perspectives on the same situation.

Overall, a reference frame is like a point of view or perspective that we use to describe movement and interactions between objects. It can change depending on where we are and how we're observing things.