MATHEMATICS - FORM 2

CHAPTER 8 COORDINATES

8.1 COORDINATES
(A) Identifying the x-axis, y-axis and the origin on a Cartesian plane
1. The Cartesian system is a system used to determine the position of a point
on a plane by using two number lines which intersect each other at right angles.
2. In the Cartesian system, the horizontal line is called the x-axis and the
vertical line is called the y-axis. The intersection point of the x-axis and the yaxis is called the origin.

(B) Plotting points on the Cartesian plane

1. The location of a point on a Cartesian plane is represented by an ordered pair
(a, b) known as the coordinates of the point.

2. To plot a point with coordinates (a, b):

(a) Along the x-axis, starting from the origin, move to the right for the value
of positive 'a' and to the left for the value of negative 'a'.
(b) Followed by moving up for the value of positive 'b' and down for the value
of negative 'b' parallel to the y-axis.

Plot the following points on a Cartesian plane.

A(3, 2) B(- 2, 3) C(- 4, - 3) D(6, - 4)

(C)

Stating the coordinates of the points on a Cartesian plane

1. The x-coordinate of a point is the distance of the point from the y-axis while
the y-coordinate of the point is the distance of the point from the x-axis.

2. The Cartesian plane consists of four quadrants. The values of the xcoordinates and y-coordinates in each of the four quadrants of the Cartesian
plane are as follow:

3. The coordinates of the origin is (0, 0).

(a) The x-coordinate of any point on the y-axis is always 0(zero).
(b) The y-coordinate of any point on the x-axis is always 0(zero).

The diagram shows a Cartesian plane. State the coordinates of points P, Q and R.
Solution:

The coordinates of P are

The coordinates of Q are
The coordinates of R are
The coordinates of S are

8.2 SCALES ON THE COORDINATE AXES

(A) Scales Used on the Coordinate Axes

1 unit on the x-axis represents 2 units.

1 unit on the y-axis represents 2 units.
Therefore, the scale for x and y-axis is 1 :
2.

1 unit on the x-axis represents 5 units.

1 unit on the y-axis represents 3 units.
Therefore, the scale for the x-axis is 1 : 5
and the scale for the y-axis is 1 : 3.

(B) Values on the x-axis and y-axis Based on Given Scales for Both Axes
Mark the values on the x-axis and the y-axis on a Cartesian plane if the scale for
the x-axis is 1 : 3 and the scale for the y-axis is 1 : 5.

(C) Stating the Coordinates of a Point Based on Given Scales for

Both Axes
State the coordinates of each point marked on the Cartesian plane.

P
Q
R
S

(D) Plotting Points with Given Coordinates Based on Given

Scales

Plot points A (1, 5) and B(-2, 20) on a Cartesian plane if the scale for the
x-axis is 1 : 1 and the scale for the y-axis is 1 : 5.

8.3 DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS IN A CARTESIAN PLANE

The distance between two points is the length of the straight
line which joins the two points.
(A) Finding the distance between two points

I. Points with common y-coordinates

The straight line which joins two points that have the same ycoordinates is parallel to the x- axis. Therefore, the distance
between two points, with common y-coordinates is the difference
between their x-coordinates.

Based on the Cartesian plane above, fine the distance between

(a) point A and point B.

(b) point C and point D.

(c) point E and point F.

II. Points with common x-coordinates

The straight line which joins two points that have the same xcoordinates is parallel to the y-axis. Therefore, the distance between
two points with common x-coordinates is the difference between their
y-coordinates.

Find the distance between these points.

(a) A(-3, 5) and B(- 3, 1)
(b) C(1, - 1) and D(1, - 3)
(c) E(4, 3) and F(4, - 2)

(a) Distance between A and B

(b) Distance between C and D

(c) Distance between D and F

(B) Finding the distance between two points using Pythagoras'

theorem
1. The distance between any two points with different x-coordinates
and y-coordinates is the length of the straight line joining the two
points.
2. The straight line is the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle
where its two other sides are parallel to the x-axis and y-axis
respectively.
For example :

3. We can use the Pythagoras' theorem to find the distance between

these two points. The formula for the distance between two points
x2 , y 2
x1 , y1
and
is

Distance =

x1 x 2 2 y1 y 2 2
Find the distance between point J(-2, 3) and point K(6, 9).

(C)

Solving problems involving the distance between two points

The diagram shows the location of a bank (B), a library (P), Ali's
house (A) and a school (S). Calculate the distance between :
(a) The school and the library
(b) The bank and Ali's house
(c) Ali's house and the school

(a)

The distance between the school and the library

(b)

The distance between the bank and Ali's house

(c)

The distance between Ali's house and the school

8.4 MIDPOINT
(A) Identifying the Midpoints of Straight Lines
The midpoint of a line joining two points is the point that divides the
line into two equal parts.

(B) The Midpoint of a Straight Line Joining Two Points with a

Common y-coordinate

In the above diagram, the point (0, 2) is the midpoint of the

straight line joining points A(-2, 2) and B(2,2).

Find the coordinates of the midpoint of a line joining points A(3,

6) and B(-7, 6).

y-coordinate for the midpoint = 6

Therefore, the midpoint for the line AB is (-2, 6).
(C) The Midpoint of a Straight Line Joining Two Points with a
Common x-coordinate
In the diagram on the right, point (1, 0) is the midpoint of the straight
line joining points A(1, 2) and B(1, -2).

Find the coordinates of the midpoint of the line joining points P(1, 0) and

Q(1, - 4).

x-coordinate for the midpoint = 1

Therefore, the midpoint for the line PQ is (1, -2).

(D) Coordinates of the Midpoint of a Line Joining Two Points

Midpoint =

x1 x 2 y1 y 2
,

2
2

Find the coordinates of the midpoint of the line joining point M(1, 4) to point N(3,- 2).

Find the coordinates of the midpoint of the line joining F(8, 2)

and G(0, -6).

The diagram above show points E, F and H on a Cartesian plane.

If the midpoint of FH and EG is the same point, find the
coordinates of G.

Join point E to the midpoint of FH. Extrapolate the straight line

until it is of equal length to the line joining point E and the
midpoint. Point G is the point where the line ends.
Therefore, the coordinates of point G is (4, 3)

Diagram above shows points marked on a grid of equal squares

with sides 1 unit. Which of the point A, B, C or D, is 5 units from
point T.

Distance of D from T

Distance of D from T