Coordinates (age 11+)
Plot and read coordinates in all four quadrants of the Cartesian plane, using positive and negative x- and y-values to describe positions precisely
What a learner can do afterwards
- Plot points with negative coordinates accurately in all four quadrants
- Identify the quadrant a point belongs to from its coordinate signs
- Read coordinates from a graph including fractional and negative values
The lesson
You already know how to plot points using an x-axis and a y-axis. Those two lines cross at a point called the origin, (0, 0), and split the plane into four regions called quadrants.
The four quadrants follow a pattern based on the signs of x and y. Quadrant I is (+, +), top right. Quadrant II is (-, +), top left. Quadrant III is (-, -), bottom left. Quadrant IV is (+, -), bottom right.
To plot (-3, 4): start at the origin, move 3 steps left because x is negative, then move 4 steps up because y is positive. You land in Quadrant II.
Numbers do not have to be whole. A point like (-1.5, 2.5) sits halfway between the marked lines, still following the same left-right, up-down rules.
A point's quadrant is decided by the signs of its coordinates: read x first for left-right, then y for up-down.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.