Revision Notes

Class 11 Maths
Chapter 12 – Introduction to Three Dimensional Geometry

Coordinate Axes
(i) Three mutually perpendicular lines are known as Coordinate Axes,
i.e., OX, OY and OZ.

1. Coordinate Planes
(i) The planes formed by the Coordinate axes are known as Coordinate
planes.

(ii) The x and y axes form XY plane.

(iii) The y and z axes form YZ plane.
(iv) The x and z axes form XZ plane.

2. Coordinates of a Point in Space

(i) The coordinates of origin, i.e., point O is (0,0,0) .

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 (ii) The coordinates of point A is (x,0,0) , i.e., this is the coordinates of
any point on x-axis.
(iii) The coordinates of point B is (0,0, z) , i.e., this is the coordinates of
any point on z-axis.
(iv) The coordinates of point C is (0, y,0) , i.e., this is the coordinates of
any point on y-axis.
(v) Similarly, the coordinates of any point on XY plane is given by
(x, y,0) , YZ plane is given by (0, y,z) and the XZ plane is given by
(x,0,z) .
(vi) A 3 dimensional coordinate system is divided into 8 section known as
Octant. The sign convention of the octants are as follows:
I II III IV V VI VII VIII
x + – – + + – – +
y + + – – + + – –
z + + + + – – – –

Ex: The octant of point (−2, −4,7) will be III. (compare from above table).

3. Distance between Two Points

(i) Consider two points A(x1 , y1 ,z1 ) and B(x 2 , y 2 , z 2 ) , as shown in the
figure below:

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 Now from the figure, ACB is a right angled triangle, so by
Pythagoras theorem, we have
AB2 = AC2 + BC2 ……(i)
Similarly, BCH is a right angled triangle, so by Pythagoras theorem,
we have
BC2 = CH2 + BH2 ……(ii)
From equation (i) and (ii), we have
AB2 = AC2 + CH2 + BH2
From the figure, the coordinates of
BH = x 2 − x1 ,CH = y 2 − y1 ,AC = z 2 − z1 .
So, the above equation can be written as,
AB2 = ( z 2 − z1 ) + ( y 2 − y1 ) + ( x 2 − x1 )
2 2 2

 AB = (x − x1 ) + ( y 2 − y1 ) + ( z 2 − z1 )
2 2 2
2

This is the distance between any two points in the three dimensional
space.
(ii) The distance of any point (x1 , y1 ,z1 ) from origin is given by:
x12 + y12 + z12
(iii) Rule: The sum of two collinear points is equal to the third collinear
point. This is true only in case of three collinear points.
For Example: If A, B, C are three collinear points, then
AB + BC = AC .
Note: Using the distance formula we can tell whether three points are
collinear or not.

4. Section Formula
(i) We can find the ratio in which a point divides a line internally using
Section Formula.
(ii) If AB is a line and C is dividing the line segment internally, then we
can find the ratio m: n in which the line AB is divided using the
section formula.
(iii) Consider two points A(x1 , y1 ,z1 ) and B(x 2 , y 2 , z 2 ) , as shown in the
figure below. Let point $C(x,y,z)$ divide the line segment AB in the

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 ratio m: n internally.

(iv) Now draw perpendiculars from A, B C on the XY plane, such that

AP || CQ || BR . Also draw a line parallel to PR through the point C,
i.e., LM.

(v) Now from the figure, quadrilaterals CDFH and DEGC are
parallelograms.
(vi) Consider ACH and BCG
These are right angled triangle and have vertically opposite angle, so
these two triangles are similar.
Therefore, we have

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 m AC
=
n BC
m AH
 =
n BG
m AF − HF
 =
n GE − BE
m AF − CD
 =
n CD − BE
Now writing their corresponding coordinates, we get
m z − z1
=
n z2 − z
 mz 2 − mz = nz − nz1
 z(m + n) = mz 2 + nz1
mz 2 + nz1
z=
m+n
(vii) Similarly, we can write for other coordinates as,
mx 2 + nx1 my 2 + ny1
x= ,y =
m+n m+n
(viii) So, the required coordinates of the point dividing internally will be,
 mx 2 + nx1 my 2 + ny1 mz 2 + nz1 
 , , 
 m+n m+n m+n 
(ix) Similarly, the required coordinates of the point dividing externally
will be,
 mx 2 − nx1 my 2 − ny1 mz 2 − nz1 
 , , 
 m + n m + n m+n 
(x) Now if the dividing point is a midpoint then m = 1,n = 1, so the
coordinates of the point will be,
 x 2 + x1 y 2 + y1 z 2 + z1 
 , , 
 2 2 2 

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