ARTICLE ON CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM &

ITS APPLICATIONS IN OUR DAILY LIFE

*ASHMA MARY ROSE

ABSTRACT:
The inner meaning of the study is to make
students aware about geometry and its general
applications. Some of the students find mathematics
difficult and find its concepts hard to imbibe hence
they dislike it. Geometry is one of main things in our
life. This project is mainly developed for students to
understand its importance in life. The basic
mathematics thinking and reasoning develops in a
student long before schooling. From a newborn and
throughout the life of humans they are fascinated to
patterns, designs and shapes. Parents often brings a
strong foundation in their pupils by providing them
with toys or electroninc gadgets with vibrantly
coloured shapes, designs and pictures. Through this
project I am confident that students will be able to
understand the basic concepts of geometry and
understand the knowledge of special use. Through
this they will acquire deep knowledge of geometry and
its real life applications so that might develop the skill
of problem solving and observing the given situation
suitably using geometry.
*B.Ed Student, Avila College of Education.

INTRODUCTION:
Cartesian coordinates is also known as
rectangular coordinates, it provide a method of rendering
graphs and indicating the positions of points on a two
dimensional (2D) surface or in three dimensional (3D)
space. The inventor of Cartesian coordinate system is the
French mathematician and the philosopher
Rene Descartes (1596- 1650). Cartesian coordinates are
used to define positions in 3D models and virtual reality
renderings. The coordinate system is also employed in
Mathematics, Physics, Engineering, Navigation, Robotics,
Economics and other sciences.
OBJECTIVES:
The main objective of the article ‘CARTESIAN
COORDINATE SYSTEM AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN
OUR DAILY LIFE’ is to make students aware of the topics
and its application.
To plot points in the Cartesian plane.
To find distance between two points in the Cartesian
plane- distance formula and then use the distance
 formula to solve geometry and real life application
problems.
To find the midpoint of the segment joining two points
in the Cartesian plane and use the midpoint formula
to solve application problems.
The real life applications listed out in the
project help the pupil to realize the importance of
coordinate geometry in ones day to day life and in the
development of society.
HYPOTHESIS:
I assume that the students will be able to
understand the basic concepts of Cartesian coordinate
system such as to plot points in the Cartesian plane, to
find the distance between two points in the Cartesian
plane. Also they may acquire the knowledge on the topic
and its real life application and they may develop the skill
of finding new innovation to the society.
WHAT IS CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM?
A Cartesian coordinate system is
a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely in
a plane by a pair of numerical coordinates, which are
the signed distances to the point from two
fixed perpendicular directed lines, measured in the
same unit of length. Each reference line is called
a coordinate axis or just axis (plural axes) of the system
and the point where they meet is its origin, at ordered
pair (0, 0). The coordinates can also be defined as the
positions of the perpendicular projections of the point onto
the two axes, expressed as signed distances from the
origin.
One can use the same principle to specify the position of
any point in three-dimensional space by three Cartesian
coordinates, its signed distances to three mutually
perpendicular planes (or, equivalently, by its perpendicular
projection onto three mutually perpendicular lines). In
general, n Cartesian coordinates (an element of real n-
space) specify the point in an n-dimensional Euclidean
space for any dimension n. These coordinates are equal,
up to sign, to distances from the point to n mutually
perpendicular hyperplanes.

The invention of Cartesian coordinates in the 17th century

by René Descartes (Latinized name: Cartesius)
revolutionized mathematics by providing the first
systematic link between Euclidean geometry and algebra.
Using the Cartesian coordinate system, geometric shapes
(such as curves) can be described by Cartesian
equations: algebraic equations involving the coordinates
of the points lying on the shape. For example, a circle of
radius 2, centered at the origin of the plane, may be
described as the set of all points whose coordinates
x and y satisfy the equation x2 + y2 = 4.

Cartesian coordinates are the foundation of analytic

geometry, and provide enlightening geometric
interpretations for many other branches of mathematics,
such as linear algebra, complex analysis, differential
geometry, multivariate calculus, group theory and more. A
familiar example is the concept of the graph of a function.
Cartesian coordinates are also essential tools for most
applied disciplines that deal with geometry,
including astronomy, physics, engineering and many
more. They are the most common coordinate system used
in computer graphics, design and other geometry-related
data processing.
SCOPE & LIMITATIONS:
Advantages of Cartesian System:
 High resolution and great accuracy and repeatability.
 Good obstacle avoidance and collision prevention.
 Ease of joint motion with respect to gravity loading.
 Easier control.
 Lift capacity
Disadvantages of Cartesian System:
 Large structural framework.
 Confinement of work space.
 Restriction on being compatible with other arms in a
common workspace. Large floor space.
 More complex mechanical design for linear sliding
motions.

APPLICATONS OF CARTESIAN COORDINATE SYSTEM IN

OUR DAILY LIFE:

DESCRIBING POSITION
Describing position the position of any object in the real
world can be described using a simple coordinate system.
For example, you could describe your phone’s position as
being 2 meters across from the door, 3.5 meters up from
the floor, and 4 meters in front of the window. In a
coordinate system, each of the three numbers used to
describe an object’s position corresponds to a coordinate
axis. The place where the zero values along each axis
meet is called the origin. In this example, the X equals 2, Y
equals 4, and Z equals 3.5.
LOCATION OF AIR TRANSPORT.
Anytime one has a need to know the location of something
– where something should be or where something actually
is – a coordinate plane is a very useful tool. For this
reason, applications that make use of mapping are
common. An air traffic controller must know the location of
every aircraft in the sky within certain geographic
boundaries. In order to describe where each aircraft is
situated, coordinates are assigned to each vehicle in the
air. Alternatively, the “air traffic controller” can assign each
“aircraft” certain coordinates, and the “aircraft” can report
to the appropriate location. So coordinate system is one of
the most important part of air transport. What if coordinate
systems doesn’t exist, pilots or others that associated with
air craft don’t know the position or location of aircraft so
the percent of aircraft crashes will be increase.
MAP PROJECTIONS.
A projected coordinate system is any coordinate system
designed for a flat surface, such as a printed map or a
computer screen. Both 2D and 3D Cartesian coordinate
systems provide the mechanism for describing the
geographic location and shape of features using x and y-
values. The Cartesian coordinate system uses two axes:
one horizontal (x), representing east–west, and one
vertical (y), representing north–south. The point at which
the axes intersect is called the origin. Locations of
geographic objects are defined relative to the origin, using
the notation (x,y), where x refers to the distance along the
horizontal axis and y refers to the distance along the
vertical axis. The origin is defined as (0, 0).
LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

Describing the correct location and shape of features

requires a coordinate framework for defining real-world
locations. A geographic coordinate system is used to
assign geographic locations to objects. A global
coordinate system of latitude-longitude is one such
framework. They are measures of the angles (in degrees)
from the center of the earth to a point on the earth's
surface. This type of coordinate reference system is often
referred to as a geographic coordinate system.

ECONOMY

In economics, we use math widely, for analyzing and

managing. During the last century result in connection
among math, economist, and statistics the new science
occurred, that called “Econometrics”. In economics, the
Lorenz curve is a graphical representation of the
cumulative distribution function of the empirical probability
distribution of wealth or income, and was developed by
Max O.Lorenz in 1905 for representing inequality of the
wealth distribution, and each calculation applies in
coordinate system.

MILITARY SERVICE

Cartesian coordinate system is also important thing in

Military Service. For each target there are coordinates to
determine the precise position of them. For example, a
soldier wants to explode some targets of enemy, so he
must know the exact position of the target. If he know the
position with coordinates, then it is so easy to explode or
wipe out the target of enemy by warship or others. But it is
important that they have to know exact coordinates,
because if it is not calibrated correctly it will give rise to
untold result.
 DIGITAL WORLD

Learning Co-ordinate geometry is not just to clear your

present class but also helps your understanding in various
ways. Like geometry is applicable in computers or cell
phones. The text file or PDF file which we open is itself an
example of coordinate plane. In these, the words or
images are written or modified with the use of coordinate
geometry. Any PDF file, which contains text, images and
different shapes, are placed according to the 2-
dimentional coordinate (x, y) system. All the concepts like
distances, slopes and simple trigonometry are also
applicable here.

Drawing any figure on paint brush or editing any image in

computer is again a field where concepts of coordinate are
used. On changing any shape or adding different colours
changes the points on the coordinate plane. Scanner and
photo copying machine also uses coordinate geometry to
produce the exact image of the original image provided to
it.
Apart from all these, most of us have used GPS in your
smart phones. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a
space based satellite navigation system that provides
location and time information in all weather conditions.
In a GPS, the longitude and the latitude of a place are its
coordinates. The distance formula is used to find the
distance between two places in a GPS.

 GPS saves lives by preventing transportation

accidents, aiding search and rescue efforts, and
speeding the delivery of emergency services and
disaster relief
 GPS is vital to the Next Generation Air Transportation
System (NextGen) that will enhance flight safety while
increasing airspace capacity. GPS also advances
scientific aims such as weather forecasting,
earthquake monitoring, and environmental protection.
 GPS remains critical to national security, and its
applications are integrated into virtually every facet of
military operations. Nearly all new military assets --
from vehicles to munitions -- come equipped with
GPS.
METHODOLOGY:

For the data’s required for this project, I collected

initial data’s from the textbooks and other resource books
and also from internet. I consulted some of my teachers to
add more points and details. I myself tried to use the
distance formula to solve geometry and real life
application problems and to find the distance between the
two pints in the Cartesian plane. I also tried to collecting
some pictures to make clearer the importance of Cartesian
coordinate system in real life.
RESULT & DISSUSION:
From the data’s collected, we can analyse the
fact that the coordinate geometry can be applied for
finding the position and distance of various objects without
actually measuring them. The concepts of distance
formula and positioning have been examined in various
cases. The details on real life application help the pupil in
encouraging the concept in real life situation.
CONCLUSION:
I found that coordinate geometry has a wide
variety of applications in real life along with development
of society. It plays a vital role in science and technology,
sometimes we do not notice or overlook. Starting from
painting, playing snake and ladder and passing the
application of coordinate geometry in computer programs,
PDF files, scanners, Mat lab, GPS system, aircraft
managements etc., it is also being used by astronomers
and amateurs in locating the objects of their interest. I also
found that coordinate geometry helps in finding out a
particular location of objects and distance between objects
without actually measuring them.
REFERENCE:
 NCERT Mathematics textbook for class IX. Sri
Aurobida Marg, New Delhi, Secretary of NCERT 2014
 NCERT Mathematics textbook for class X. Sri
Aurobida Marg, New Delhi, Secretary of NCERT 2014
 NCERT Mathematics textbook for class XI. Sri
Aurobida Marg, New Delhi, Secretary of NCERT 2014

WEBSITES:
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartesian_coordinate_sy
stem
 https://prezi.com/rudfkhuyvuob/use-of-coordinate-
geometry-in-gps/
 http://blog.askiitians.com/co-ordinate-geometry-
works-real-space-five-practical-examples/
 https://www.slideshare.net/ssuser2eafea/application-
of-coordinate-system-and-vectors-in-the-real-life