Lesson Co-ordinates

There are many situations in which we need to describe our position. We might agree to meet a friend at their house, outside the cinema or on the corner of the street. Describing positions in this way is easy, as we can use local landmarks. However, if we are in the middle of the countryside, on an aeroplane or in a boat, describing our position will be less straightforward.
There are many ways of describing position, and one of these is through the use of co-ordinates.


* x and y co-ordinates
* Plotting co-ordinates
* Practice plotting co-ordinates
• Co-ordinates in four quadrants





x and y co-ordinates
The point (0,0) is called the origin.
The line 0x is known as the x-axis.
The line 0y is known as the y-axis.
The plural of axis is axes.
The x-axis is horizontal, and the y-axis is vertical.
A good way to remember which axis is which is to say to yourself;
'x is a cross so the x axis is across'

Co-ordinates are written as two numbers, separated by a comma, within round brackets.
For example, (2, 3), (5, 7) and (4, 4)
• The first number refers to the x co-ordinate.
• The second number refers to the y co-ordinate.
Remember: Co-ordinates are written alphabetically - so x comes before y (x, y)
Plotting co-ordinates
When describing co-ordinates, we always start at the origin.
For example, to describe the position of point A, we start at the origin and move two squares in the horizontal (x) direction. We then move three squares in the vertical (y) direction.

For live homework help & tutors - visit www.24hourstutor.com