#Graph coordinate how to

The Cartesian coordinate system, also called the rectangular coordinate system, is based on a two-dimensional plane consisting of the x-axis and the y-axis. Descartes named the horizontal axis the x-axis and the vertical axis the y-axis. While there is evidence that ideas similar to Descartes’ grid system existed centuries earlier, it was Descartes who introduced the components that comprise the Cartesian coordinate system, a grid system having perpendicular axes. Further, by dividing each axis into equal unit lengths, Descartes saw that it was possible to locate any object in a two-dimensional plane using just two numbers-the displacement from the horizontal axis and the displacement from the vertical axis. He viewed the perpendicular lines as horizontal and vertical axes. According to the story, Descartes was staring at a fly crawling on the ceiling when he realized that he could describe the fly’s location in relation to the perpendicular lines formed by the adjacent walls of his room. Plotting Ordered Pairs in the Cartesian Coordinate SystemĪn old story describes how seventeenth-century philosopher/mathematician René Descartes, while sick in bed, invented the system that has become the foundation of algebra.

#Graph coordinate how to

In this section, we will learn how to use grid lines to describe locations and changes in locations. Laying a rectangular coordinate grid over the map, we can see that each stop aligns with an intersection of grid lines. Each stop is indicated by a red dot in Figure 1. On the way, she made a few stops to do errands. Hence, it is positive.Tracie set out from Elmhurst, IL, to go to Franklin Park. In quadrant 1, both x and y coordinates are positive. In quadrant 4, the x-coordinates are positive and the y-coordinates are negative. All the quadrants are different from each other based on the position and symbol of the x and y-coordinates. These are formed by the intersection of the x and y axes and are named Quadrants I, II, III, and IV. The x and the y-axes divide the plane into four graph quadrants. For example, if someone says a point is located in quadrant II, immediately is understood that the x coordinate of the point is negative and its y-coordinate is positive. The quadrants are used to explain the position of a point on the coordinate plane. Other than this, quadrant II has negative x-coordinates and positive y-coordinates, quadrant III has both negative coordinates and quadrant IV contains the positive values of x but negative values of y. Quadrant I contains the positive values of x and y, so it is considered to be a positive quadrant.

Quadrant IV is on the lower right-hand corner of the plane.

Quadrant III is on the lower left-hand corner of the plane.Quadrant II is on the upper left-hand corner of the plane.

Quadrant I is on the upper right-hand corner of the plane.The 4 quadrants are numbered in the following way: We get 4 quadrants when the axes intersect each other. In the above example, ordinate = 6 means, starting from the origin, we need to go along the y-axis in a positive direction (up) up to 6 units.įAQs on Quadrant What is the Definition of Quadrant in Math?Ī quadrant can be defined as a part of a cartesian plane that is obtained when the two axes intersect each other. The ordinate gives information about the vertical distance of the point from the origin and its sign tells the direction, i.e., above or below the origin.For example, abscissa = -4 means, starting from the origin, we need to go along the x-axis in a negative direction (left) up to 4 units. The abscissa gives information about the horizontal distance of the point from the Y-axis and its sign tells the direction, i.e., left or right.Without even plotting it on a graph, by observing its sign (-ve, +ve) we can make out that it lies in quadrant II. For example, we are given a point P (-4,6). This gives an idea about the quadrant in which the given point lies. To understand how to plot a point in the four quadrants, we need to observe the signs of an x-coordinate (also called abscissa) and a y-coordinate (also called ordinate). The numbers in the quadrant are expressed in the ordered pair (a, b) where 'a' is the x- coordinate and 'b' is the y-coordinate.