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Home / Mathematics / Coordinate Geometry Quadrants

Coordinate Geometry Quadrants: How to Plot Points on a Graph

Last Updated on Mar 03, 2025
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What are Coordinate Geometry Quadrants?

Coordinate geometry quadrants allow us to describe the points on a plane by specifying them with numbers that represent the distance of the points from the two axes. In coordinate geometry, we make use of axes to denote points in space with unique numbers. Depending upon the number of dimensions we can use 1, 2 or 3 axes. For solving maths and geometry problems in 2D space we make use of two axes the x-axis and y-axis. The two axes are perpendicular to each other and meet at a point that is labeled (0,0), i.e as the origin or reference point. The x and y axes divide the plane into 4 equal parts called quadrants.

Origin: The point where these two axes intersect is known as the origin, and it is represented by the ordered pair (0, 0). All distances measured along the x and y axes are measured from the origin.

Sign Convention: The xy plane is divided into four quadrants by the x and y axes, with each quadrant having a specific sign for the different x and y coordinates of the points in the quadrant. This arises because of the convention we choose to assign negative values in a particular direction on each of the two axes.

Quadrants X – coordinate value Y – coordinate value
1st quadrant Positive (+) Positive (+)
2nd quadrant Negative (-) Positive (+)
3rd quadrant Negative (-) Negative (-)
4th quadrant Positive (+) Negative (-)

What are the 4 Quadrants in Coordinate Geometry?

The four quadrants on the coordinate plane are formed by the intersection of the x- and y-axes. Their characteristics are as follows:

Quadrant I: The first quadrant, referred to as Quadrant I, is in the upper right corner. Both the x-axis and the y-axis in this quadrant are +ve.

Quadrant II: The second quadrant, also known as Quadrant II, is the upper left quadrant. The x-axis has -ve values and the y-axis has +ve values in this quadrant.

Quadrant III: The third quadrant, also known as Quadrant III, is the bottom left quadrant. Both the x-axis and the y-axis have -ve values in this quadrant.

Quadrant IV: The fourth quadrant, also known as Quadrant IV, is the bottom right quadrant. The x-axis in this quadrant is +ve, while the y-axis is -ve.

What are Coordinate Geometry Quadrants on a Graph?

The coordinates for the x and y axes are represented by the ordered pair (a, b) in which the numbers in the quadrant are expressed.

We must pay attention to the signs of an x-coordinate and a y-coordinate in order to comprehend how to plot a point in the four quadrants.

For example, A point P is provided for us (-4,6). Its sign (-ve, +ve) enables us to determine that it is located in quadrant II without even plotting it on a graph.

The coordinate provides information regarding the point’s horizontal separation from the Y-axis, and its sign indicates the direction, either left or right. For instance, abscissa = -4 indicates that we must move leftward along the x-axis up to 4 units from the origin.

How to Plot Points on Coordinate Geometry Quadrants?

 

Certain points must be remembered in order to plot points on a graph.

  • The coordinates should be written as (a,b), where ‘a’ is the x coordinate and is referred to as the abscissa, and ‘b’ is the y coordinate and is referred to as the ordinate.
  • The sign of the x coordinate is abscissa. It is the distance between a point and the vertical line, also known as the y-axis. It is measured perpendicular to the x-axis.
  • Ordinate refers to the distance a point has from the x-axis. It is measured parallel to the y-axis, which runs vertically across the graph.
  • The point at which both axes intersect is known as the ‘origin,’ and it is denoted by (0,0).
  • It implies that the value of the x-axis is zero, as is the value of the y-axis.

Example: Plot the cartesian plane’s point D (5,-3)

Solution: Step: 1 First, look at the sign to determine which quadrant it is in.

Step: 2 The point is in quadrant IV and is of the type (+ve, -ve).

Step: 3 Take a point P on the right-hand side at a distance of 5 units from the origin because the coordinate is equal to 5.

Step: 4 Ordinate = -3; the point P should now be moved 3 units down in the vertical direction.

Solved Examples of Coordinate Geometry Quadrants

Example 1: In the graph plot the following points

a) (-3,-5)
b) (4,3)

Solution:

 

Point ‘B’ represents the coordinates (-3, -5), while point ‘A’ represents the points (3,4) on the graph.

Example 2: Plot the point (–3,0) and recognize which quadrant or axis it is located.

Solution: Since x = 3, we will move it 3 units to the left along the x-axis from the origin. When y = 0, no y-movement will occur.

As we can see the point is not in either quadrant II or quadrant III. It can be found on the negative x-axis.

Conclusion

Understanding coordinate geometry quadrants is a game-changer, especially when tackling tricky graph problems on tests like the SAT, ACT, PSAT/NMSQT, or even AP and GRE exams. Once you get the hang of plotting points and recognizing signs in each quadrant, you’ll breeze through geometry and algebra questions. So, practice identifying quadrants, plotting points, and mastering those (x, y) coordinates—you’ll be one step closer to acing your exams!

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