Final answer:
Negative and positive feedback mechanisms impact the levels of stocks within a system, with negative feedback maintaining equilibrium and positive feedback driving the system away from equilibrium.
Step-by-step explanation:
Negative and positive feedback are types of feedback mechanisms that act on systems. They have a common feature, which is that they both impact the levels of stocks within the system. Negative feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis by counteracting a change, while positive feedback mechanisms amplify a change and drive the system away from equilibrium.
For example, in a negative feedback loop, if the level of a substance in the system decreases, the feedback mechanism will work to increase the level of that substance back to its original level. In a positive feedback loop, if the level of a substance increases, the feedback mechanism will amplify that increase, leading to further increases in the level of the substance.
In summary, both negative and positive feedback mechanisms impact the levels of stocks within a system, but negative feedback mechanisms maintain equilibrium while positive feedback mechanisms drive the system away from equilibrium.