Overview of the Rectangular Coordinate System

A rectangle coordinate system (RCS) consists of two perpendicular lines

( Horizontal and Vertical ) which create four quadrants ( I, II, III, IV ).

Horizontal Line is called Abscissa and Vertical Line is called Ordinate.

Each perpendicular line is actually a real number line with all of the real

numbers represented. The entire rectangular coordinate system is an array

of intersections or points created by the real numbers from the H & V lines.

Normal intersections or points are contained within each quadrant while

special intersections or points are contained on the Abscissa or Ordinate.

Each intersection or point is identified by a value from the Horizontal and

the Vertical lines. They are called ordered pairs because of the order:(H,V).

One very special intersection called the Origin which is the intersection

of the Abscissa (H) and Ordinate (V) is identified by the ordered pair (0,0).

The points represented on the Rectangular Coordinate System are identified as:

A = (+4,+2) B=(0, -2) C=(-2,+2) D=(-4,0) E=(-3, -2) F=(+3, -3)

To determine the ordered pair for any given point locate the H coordinate and

the V coordinate at the point of intersection and arrange them in an ordered pair.

To enhance knowledge and skill of locating points on a Rectangular Coordinate

System then it might be a good idea to play the è Coordinate Game

This enjoyable and rewarding game comes from The Birmingham Grid for Learning.

The Rectangular Coordinate System is also called the Cartesian Coordinate System

after Rene Descartes a French Mathematician who developed this graphing scheme.

Tom Love Malone College Fall 2003