Another beginner question

How can there be so many variations on one chord? Are they supposed to sound the same?

yes they are supposed to sound the same, but the variations can be easier or harder, i would use the variation that is most common.

like sophie said different variations of chords can be easier to play like an A open chord is easier than an A barre chord

if your playing chords that are al well up the fret, and you just happen to need an A chord real fast, youll really resent only knowing the basic A, down at the head of the fretboard, because its slightly more time consuming to have to go down 6 frets just to throw out one chord, so its helpful to know the same chords all over the neck for easy access whenever you need it...

really,they dont all sound the same,if you listen carefully they play the same note but at a higher or lower note

There are only a few basic chord variations; you just need to know how to bar and where the root notes are.