--- title: "Describing Movements" description: "Describe movements between positions as translations of a given unit to the left/right and up/down" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/describing-movements-mt_Uq5vYqboCR source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/describing-movements-mt_Uq5vYqboCR.md retrieved: 2026-10-19 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Describing Movements Describe movements between positions as translations of a given unit to the left/right and up/down Subject: Mathematics · Area: Geometry · Ages 8 to 9 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/describing-movements-mt_Uq5vYqboCR ## Ready when they can - Describe moving from (2,3) to (5,3) as 3 units to the right - Translate a shape 4 units right and 2 units up and state the new coordinates - Predict where a point will be after a given translation ## Lesson: Describing a movement You already know how to read coordinates and slide shapes on a grid. Now you will describe that slide in a clear way: how many units left or right, and how many units up or down. **Example.** A point starts at (2, 3) and ends at (5, 3). The y-number stays 3, so the point did not move up or down. The x-number went from 2 to 5, a change of 3. The movement is 3 units to the right. **Example.** A shape has a corner at (1, 1). You slide it 4 units right and 2 units up. Add 4 to the x-number: 1 + 4 = 5. Add 2 to the y-number: 1 + 2 = 3. The corner is now at (5, 3). *(drawing: One slide, two moves: first 4 units right, then 2 units up.)* **Tip.** Right and up add to your numbers. Left and down subtract. Check the x-number for left and right, and the y-number for up and down, one at a time. **Recap.** A movement on a grid is just adding or subtracting units from the x-number for left and right, and the y-number for up and down. ## Practice 18 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [First Quadrant Coordinates](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/first-quadrant-coordinates-mt_jBQS-CicNn) ## Opens up - [Reflection and Translation on a Grid](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/reflection-and-translation-on-a-grid-mt_efOeaGFyGM) - [Transformations on a grid](https://lightmysky.com/learn/mathematics/transformations-on-a-grid-mt_SH7QgFl8-v)