01 · CARTESIAN PLANE
What is the Cartesian Plane?
To locate the position of a point in a plane, we use two perpendicular lines: a horizontal line X'OX (X-axis) and a vertical line Y'OY (Y-axis). The plane is called the Cartesian plane or coordinate plane.
KEY TERMINOLOGY
Cartesian Definitions
• Origin O: The intersection point (0,0) of X-axis and Y-axis.
• Abscissa (x-coordinate): Perpendicular distance of a point from Y-axis measured along X-axis.
• Ordinate (y-coordinate): Perpendicular distance of a point from X-axis measured along Y-axis.
• Coordinates (x, y): Written in ordered pair format where abscissa comes first and ordinate second.