The Rectangular Coordinate System

The number line is often called a one-

dimensional coordinate system. The word
coordinate basically means “location”. One-
dimensional means that we can only move
left and right on the number line.
 On the number line, we determine the location of a
point by using a single number. This number tells us
the point’s distance and direction from 0 on the number
line. Thus – 6 is called the coordinate of a point that is
6 units to the left of 0.
In order to describe locations on a flat surface,
which is usually called a two-dimensional plane, we
will need two coordinates. Using two coordinates to
describe a location is a common practice familiar to us.
For example, to locate a seat in a theater, your ticket
usually contains two “coordinates” such as A-4 or G-
26.
 Horizontal number line – x-axis
 Vertical number line - y-axis
 x-axis and y-axis – coordinate axes
 Origin – point of intersection of the coordinate axes

For the y-coordinate:

 positive, when above the x-axis
 negative, when below the x-axis

For the x-coordinate:

 Positive, to the right of the y-axis
 Negative, to the left of the y-axis

A system of coordinate axes is called a Rectangular Coordinate

System or Cartesian Coordinate System, named after famous
French philosopher and mathematician René Descartes.
 The two-dimensional plane or Cartesian
plane is divided by the coordinate axes into four
parts called quadrants.
To describe the location of a point in the
plane, we need two numbers, which are called
an ordered pair. An ordered pair is a pair of
numbers enclosed in parentheses, and separated
by a comma in the following way: (x, y).
Example:
Graph the
following
points.
a.(3, 5)
b.(-5, 2)
c.(-5, -4)
d.(0, -3)
e.(4, -6)
Answer Warm-up Practice
Letter A, B, C, D, and E.
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3