The Coordinate Plane

The Coordinate Plane A two dimensional coordinate plane is a surface on which there are two axis perpendicular to each other, the horizontal axis known as the X-axis and the vertical axis known as the Y-axis. On the basis of these two axis, points are plotted on the coordinate plane. The point of intersection of the X-axis and the Y-axis is known as the origin and the point of origin is (0, 0). The coordinate axis divides the coordinate plane into 4 quadrants known as the first, second, third and the fourth quadrants. Example 1: Given 2 points, (1, 2), (-2, 4). On the coordinate plane, in which quadrants do the points lie? The coordinate plane is divided into 4 quadrants as shown above. The point (1, 2) - x = 1 and y= 2. Since both x and y are positive numbers, the point lies in Quadrant I. The point (-2, 4)-x= -2 and y= 4. Since x is negative but y is positive, the point lies in Quadrant II. Example 2: Given the points, (-3, -1), (5, -6) and (-4, 5). On the coordinate plane, in which quadrants do the points lie? The point (-3, -1)-x= -3 and y= -1. Here both x and y are negative, hence the point lies in Quadrant III. The point (5, -6)-x= 5 and y= -6. Here x is positive and y is negative, hence the point lies in Quadrant IV. The point (-4, 5)-x = -4 and y= 5. Since x is negative but y is positive, the point lies in Quadrant II.