Read coordinate graphs

Reading coordinate graphs involves interpreting the horizontal and vertical axes, origin, scale, and ordered pairs in the first quadrant, with the first coordinate giving horizontal position and the second giving vertical position. The learner connects plotted points to quantities or data values, compares locations and values, and avoids reversing coordinates or ignoring unequal intervals; negative coordinates, four-quadrant planes, and fractional or decimal coordinates are outside this scope.

Detailed Explanation: Read coordinate graphs

To read a coordinate graph, first check:

The horizontal axis is the $x$ -axis.
The vertical axis is the $y$ -axis.
The point where the axes meet is the origin, $((0,0))$ .
Read the coordinates in order:

(\text{horizontal position},\ \text{vertical position})

Example

A graph shows the number of books read during a week.

The horizontal axis shows the day number from $0$ to $4$ .
The vertical axis shows the number of books, marked $(0, 5, 10, 15,)$ and $(20)$ .
Point $A$ is plotted at $((3,10))$ .

What does point $A$ represent?

Step 1: Read the first coordinate.

The first coordinate is $3$ . Move $3$ units along the horizontal axis. This tells us the day number is $3$ .

Step 2: Read the second coordinate.

The second coordinate is $(10)$ . Move up to $(10)$ on the vertical axis. This tells us the number of books is $(10)$ .

Step 3: State what the point means.

Point $A$ means that on day $3$ , the student had read $(10)$ books.

Remember: The first coordinate tells the horizontal position, and the second coordinate tells the vertical position. Do not switch $((3,10))$ to $((10,3))$ .

Learn by doing: Read coordinate graphs

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Cartesian Grid - Points

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