Graphs: Coordinates of a Point
Lesson Objective
Learn how to read & write the coordinates of a point.
Why Learn This?
To use the coordinate plane, the first thing you must learn is to read & write the position (coordinates) of a point on the plane.
The picture on the right helps to illustrate this further.
Now, let's proceed to the study tips below.
Study Tips
If you are not sure what are 'x-coordinate' or 'y-coordinate', just keep the study tips in mind. Things will be much clearer after you watch the video.
Tip #1
Read the x-coordinate first, then the y-coordinate. This minimizes mistake when you write down the coordinates.
Tip #2
Double check the coordinates that you have written down. Make sure the x-coordinate and y-coordinate are in the correct order and not swapped.
Now, watch the following math video to understand more.
Math Video
Math Video Transcript
00:00:02.110
Now that you are already familiar with the coordinate plane, let's move on to learn how to read the co-ordinates of a point.
00:00:12.010
Consider this point right over here. When it is placed on the plane, it will have it's own co-ordinates that shows it's position.
00:00:22.000
Now, how to read the co-ordinates of this point? First read the x-coordinate of this point from the x-axis. You see that you'll get 2.0.
00:00:35.190
Now read the y-coordinate of this point from the y-axis. You'll get 3.0. By combining x and y-coordinate together, you'll get the co-ordinates of the point as (2.0,3.0)
00:00:54.000
You can write the co-ordinates beside this point like this. Bear in mind, the 2.0 here corresponds to the x-coordinate and the 3.0 corresponds to the y-coordinate.
00:01:09.040
Also, you must write the co-ordinates of the point in this order... 2.0,... 3.0. These numbers must be written in the this order; and this order also known as 'Ordered Pair'.
00:01:22.110
Lets experiment with what we have learned. I'm going to move this point around. Observe how the co-ordinates changes accordingly. (Moves from (2.0,3.0) - ( 2.0,2.0) - (2.0,-3.0) - (-2.0,-3.0) - (-2.0,3.0) stops for about 3s for each co-ordinates).
00:01:31.140
x-coordinate: 2.0 , y-coordinate: 2.0.
00:01:50.020
x-coordinate: 2.0 , y-coordinate: negative 3.0.
00:02:07.190
x-coordinate: 2.0 negative 2.0 , y-coordinate: negative 3.0.
00:02:26.110
x-coordinate: negative 2.0 , y-coordinate: 3.0.
00:02:35.070
Alright, that is all for this lesson. You can move on to the practice questions to test your understanding.
Practice Questions & More
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
Now, let's try some MCQ questions to understand this lesson better.
You can start by going through the series of the Coordinates of a point questions here or pick your question below.
- Question 1 on the basic understanding
- Question 2 on the basic understanding
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