Which of the following describes what 'positions' can refer to?

Positions commonly refer to specific locations on the Earth's surface, which can be described using geographic coordinate systems. Latitude and longitude are the most widely recognized forms of these coordinates. Latitude indicates how far north or south a point is from the equator, while longitude indicates how far east or west a point is from the prime meridian.

In addition to latitude and longitude, rectangular coordinates (often referred to as Cartesian coordinates) can also describe positions on a flat plane. This system uses two values (x and y) to indicate a point's distance along the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively.

Understanding positions in this way is critical for various applications in civil engineering, such as surveying, mapping, and navigation, where precise location information is essential for project planning and execution. The other options provided either focus too narrowly on a specific aspect of positioning or do not encompass the broad definitions of positions as used in surveying and mapping contexts.