The Coordinate

PlaneMath

What is the Coordinate Plane?

• A Coordinate Plane is a plane consisting of a set of two lines intersecting (crossing) each other at right angles. The horizontal line is the X-axis and the vertical one is the Y-axis, and the point of their intersection is called the origin with the coordinates( being equal in rank, quality, or importance) (0, 0).

What is a number line?

• A number line is a picture of a straight line on which every point is assumed to correspond ( relate) to a real number and every real number to a point. The arrows at the ends of the lines show that the line keeps on going.

What are positive and negative numbers?

• A positive number is a real number greater than zero. Zero itself is not positive.

• A negative number is a real number less than zero.

What is a axis?

• An axis a number line that gives motion through positive numbers, negative numbers, and zero as mapped on a graph.

What is a origin?• The origin is the beginning of something’s existence.

The origin is also the point where the x and y axis intersects (crosses).

What is the x- axis?

• The x-axis is the horizontal line.

What is the y-axis?

• The y-axis is a vertical line.

What are Quadrants?

• The two axes divide the plane into four sections called “quadrants”. The quadrants are labeled with Roman numerals, starting at the positive x-axis and going around anti-clockwise.

• These are Roman numerals:

Quadrant 1

• When reading quadrant 1, both of the numbers will be positive (+, +), (3, 4).

Quadrant 2• When reading numbers in quadrant 2, the first

number will be negative and the second number will be positive (-, +), (-2, 1).

Quadrant 3• When reading numbers in quadrant 3, the first number

will be negative and the second number will be negative (-, -), (-6, -3).

Quadrant 4• When reading quadrant 4, the first number will be

positive and the second number will be negative

( +, -), ( 4,-4).

What are ordered pairs?• An ordered pair is a pair of numbers used to locate a

point on a Coordinate plane. An ordered pair is written in the form (x, y) where x is the x-coordinate and y is the y-coordinate. You should always read the x-axis first and then the y-axis when plotting ordered pairs on the Coordinate plane.

The four quadrants and the origin