Lesson · Grade 7 · Mathematics
Reading the coordinates of a point
- Grade 7
- Mathematics
- 1 min 4 s
- British Columbia
- BC7-MA-57
A point A on a grid has its coordinates read one at a time: a line straight down to the x-axis gives x = −3, and a line straight across to the y-axis gives y = 4, so A is at (−3, 4). The answer is checked by walking left 3 and up 4 from the origin, and swapping the numbers to (4, −3) lands on a different point, which shows that x always comes first.
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In one sentence
The question this lesson answers
What are the coordinates of point A on this grid?
Coordinates are a pair of numbers, x first and then y.
Transcript
What the lesson says
What are the coordinates of point A on this grid?
Coordinates are a pair of numbers, x first and then y.
First, go straight down from point A to the x-axis.
The line meets the x-axis at negative 3, so x is negative 3.
Next, go straight across from point A to the y-axis.
The line meets the y-axis at 4, so y is 4.
So the coordinates of point A are negative 3, 4.
To check, start at the origin, go left 3, then go up 4.
We land right on point A, so our answer is correct.
If you swap the numbers, you get 4, negative 3, which is a different point.
To read a point, find x on the x-axis first, then y on the y-axis.
Curriculum
Where this fits
- British Columbia, Grade 7
Mathematics, Geometry and measurement: Cartesian coordinates and graphingBC7-MA-57
Previous: Plotting a Point with Integer CoordinatesNext: Distance Between Two Points on a Grid Line
The outcomes and strands follow the British Columbia curriculum.
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