Graphs: Coordinates of a Point

Lesson Objective

Learn how to read & write the coordinates of a point.

Why Learn This?

To use the coordinate plane, the first thing you must learn is to read & write the position (coordinates) of a point on the plane.

The picture on the right helps to illustrate further.

Now, let's go through the study tips listed below.

Study Tips

If you are not sure about x-coordinate or y-coordinate, just keep the tips in mind first. You will be clear about it while watching the math video.

Tips #1

Read the x-coordinate first, then the y-coordinate. This minimizes mistakes when you write down the coordinates.

Tips #2

Double check the coordinates that you have written down. Make sure the x-coordinate and y-coordinate are in the correct order and not swapped.

Now, watch the following math video to understand more.

Math Video

Click Play to Watch

Math Video Transcript

00:00:02.110
Now that you are already familiar with the coordinate plane, let's move on to learn how to read the co-ordinates of a point.

00:00:12.010
Consider this point right over here. When it is placed on the plane, it will have it's own co-ordinates that shows it's position.

00:00:22.000
Now, how to read the co-ordinates of this point? First read the x-coordinate of this point from the x-axis. You see that you'll get 2.0.  

00:00:35.190
Now read the y-coordinate of this point from the y-axis. You'll get 3.0. By combining x and y-coordinate together, you'll get the co-ordinates of the point as (2.0,3.0) 

00:00:54.000
You can write the co-ordinates beside this point like this. Bear in mind, the 2.0 here corresponds to the x-coordinate and the 3.0 corresponds to the y-coordinate.

00:01:09.040
Also, you must write the co-ordinates of the point in this order... 2.0,... 3.0. These numbers must be written in the this order; and this order also known as 'Ordered Pair'.

00:01:22.110
Lets experiment with what we have learned. I'm going to move this point around. Observe how the co-ordinates changes accordingly. (Moves from (2.0,3.0) - ( 2.0,2.0) - (2.0,-3.0) - (-2.0,-3.0) - (-2.0,3.0) stops for about 3s for each co-ordinates).

00:01:31.140
x-coordinate: 2.0 , y-coordinate: 2.0. 

00:01:50.020
x-coordinate: 2.0 , y-coordinate:  negative 3.0. 

00:02:07.190
x-coordinate: 2.0  negative 2.0 , y-coordinate: negative 3.0.

00:02:26.110
x-coordinate: negative 2.0 , y-coordinate: 3.0.

00:02:35.070
Alright, that is all for this lesson. You can move on to the practice questions to test your understanding.

Practice Questions & More

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

Now, let's try some MCQ questions to understand this lesson better.

You can start by going through the series of the Coordinates of a point questions here or pick your question below.

Question 1 on the basic understanding
Question 2 on the basic understanding

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