Monday, May 10, 2021

The Cartesian plane

The Cartesian plane

The cartesian plane is named after the French mathematician and philosopher Rene
Descartes. He introduced the co-ordinate system to show how we can use algebra
to solve geometric problems
The horizontal line is called the horizontal axis or the x-axis
The vertical line is called the vertical axis or the y-axis
The point of intersection is called the point of origin or just origin and is denoted
by O (0,0)
The cartesian plane is used to plot points and hence draw graphs.
The system used to plot points is called the rectangular system or rectangular
coordinates. Each point is defined by stating a horizontal coordinate followed by a
vertical coordinate. ( x , y ). This is known as an ordered pair.
The set of x-coordinates is also called the domain and the set of y-coordinates is
called the co-domain or the range.
Typically in plotting points on the Cartesian plane, suitable scales must be used for
each axis. Eg. 1 cm represents 1 unit. Scales chosen should ensure that after points
have been plotted and the graph is drawn, approximately 80% of the grauio-ph
paper is occupied

When plotting points we usually use ⊙ or × to indicate the position of a point on

the graph.

 Monday, May 10, 2021

As shown above the cartesian plane is divided into 4 quadrants. We start from the
area bounded by the positive x and y axis and that is called quadrant 1, we then
move in an anti clockwise direction to label quadrants 2, 3 and 4. The diagram also
shows what the x and y values would be in each quadrant.

Example 1: Using a scale of 1cm to represent 1 unit on each axis, plot the
following points: A (3, 5), B (-3, 3), C (-2, -3) and D (2, -2)

Example 2:

Using a scale of 1cm to represent 1 unit on both axes from - 4 to 4.

(i) Plot the following points K (-2, -3), L (-2, 2), M (3, 2) and N (3, -3)
(ii) Join the points in alphabetical order then complete the plane figure
(iii) What type of quadrilateral is KLMN?
(iv) Draw the diagonals KM and LN to intersect at C. State the co ordinates of C.

(See attached file for the solutions)

Home Work

1) Using a scale of 1cm to represent 1 unit on the x-axis and 2cm to represent 1
unit on the y-axis, plot the following points: P (2, 2), Q (-3, 1), R (-2, -1.5) and
S (1, -2.5)

2) Plot the graph of the following points on graph paper, using 1cm to represent 1
unit, and join the points to make the figures ABCD and PQR. Hence state the
type of shape produced in each case.
(a) A (-2, 0), B( 4, 0), C (5, 3), D(-1, 3)
(b) P (2, 1), Q(4, 1) and R(6, 5)