501 Geometry Questions

Plotting Points on a Coordinate Plane

Points in the coordinate plane have an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate that
show where the point is in relation to the origin. Points are presented in the
format (x, y).
A point’s position left or right of the origin is its x-coordinate; a point’s
position up or down from the x-axis is its y-coordinate. Every point’s coor-
dinate pair shows the number of spaces left or right of the y-axis and the
number of spaces above or below the x-axis.

Plotting a Point on a Coordinate Plane

To plot a point you always start from the origin, which is the point (0,0).
Using the first coordinate, count the number of spaces indicated right (x>
0) or left (x< 0) of the origin. Using the second coordinate, count the num-
ber of spaces indicated up (y> 0) or down (y< 0) of the x-axis.
For example, the point (3,1) in Quadrant I was plotted by starting at the
origin, moving three spaces to the right, and then one space up. Similarly,
the point (–5, –2) in Quadrant III was plotted by starting at the origin, mov-
ing five spaces to the left (because the x-coordinate is number), and then
two spaces down (because the y-coordinate is also negative).

Quadrant II Quadrant I

Quadrant III Quadrant IV

(−3,2)

(3,1)

(2,−3)

(−5,−2)

y

x

501 Geometry Questions