The Coordinate System

Axis Of The Real Numbers

P In one dimension, each point on a straight line can be represented

by a real number.
P The range of real numbers runs from negative infinity to positive
infinity.
P A straight line marked with an origin corresponding to the
number 0 and with all other real numbers in order is called the
axis of the real numbers.
P In the Cartesian Plane, this would be known as the x axis.
 According to René Descartes, a French mathematician of the seventeenth
century, each point on a plane can be represented by a pair of real numbers
in a like manner.

Cartesian Coordinate System

The two dimensional

Cartesian coordinate system
is formed by drawing the
two axes of the real numbers
(x-axis and y-axis)
perpendicular to each other
with the intersection point
as the origin. The plane is
then divided into four
quadrants
Quadrant Properties

Reading Coordinates on the Cartesian Plane

P x coordinates are read first,

followed by the y
coordinates in the form (x,y)
P Quadrant 1 will have
coordinates (+,+)
P Quadrant 2 will have
coordinates (-,+)
P Quadrant 3 will have
coordinates (-,-)
P Quadrant 4 will have
coordinates (+,-)
Origin, Ordered Pairs, Abscissa, and Ordinate

P The origin is the point where

the x and y axes intersect.
P The coordinates of the point A
is the pair of real numbers
(XA,YA)
P In the figure, point A in
quadrant I has coordinates
(4, 3). We call the pair of
numbers an ordered pair.
P The first component of the
coordinates is called the
abscissa and the second
component is called the
ordinate in a Cartesian
coordinate system
There exists a one-to-one correspondence between the set of
ordered pairs of real numbers in a specific pair of axes and the
set of points in a plane.

For any two points A,B on x-axis,

mAB = XB - XA = |difference of abscissas|.

For any two points C,D on y-axis,

mCD = YD - YC = |difference of ordinates|.

 Slope

P A number that represents the

steepness of a line on a grid.
P The number always indicates
how far we move vertically as
we move 1 unit horizontally.
P The slope is an indication of
how steep the line is.
Slope Properties

P The slope of any horizontal segment is zero.

P The slope of any vertical segment is undefined.
P The slope of a line segment rising to the right is positive.
P The slope of a line segment falling to the right is negative.
Calculation of Slope (1)

slope = rise / run

Calculation of Slope 2
Examples 1 and 2 illustrate two ways to determine the slope of a line
segment.
Determine the Slope of
Line Segment AB
Solution

P Determine the slope by

counting squares.
P Moving from A to B, the rise
is -8 and the run is 3.
P Slope AB = rise / run
= -8 / 3
= -2.667
 Another Formula For
Calculating Slope
P To find the rise, calculate the difference
between the endpoint y coordinate and the
origin y coordinate.
(y2 - y1)
P To find the run, calculate the difference
between the endpoint x coordinate and the
origin x coordinate.
(x2 - x1)
P The new formula for slope, therefore is:
slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 -x1)

P In the example at left:

slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

= (-3) - (5) / (4) - (1)
slope = ªy / ªx = (-3) + (-5) / 3
= -8 / 3
Calculation of Slope (3)

GIVE IT A TRY!
Calculation of Slope (4)
Sample Calculations (a) slope = rise / run
= -1 / 4
= -0.25
(b) slope = rise / run
=4/6
=2/3
= 0.667

(c) slope = rise / run

=2/6
=1/3
= 0. 333
(d) slope = rise / run
= -5 / 2
= - 2.5

(e) slope = rise / run

=0/3
=0
Undefined Slopes
Slopes With a Value of Zero