Xy-Axes and Plotting Coordinates - RGS Info



xy-Axes and Plotting Coordinates

Sometimes data has two pieces of information about it, whether it be the height and shoe-size of a person or the longitude and latitude of a city. To display this information we commonly use a set of axes (two perperdicular number lines) labelled x and y. Draw axes big enough to be able to fit all points in that you need.

y

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0 x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

y

4

3

2

1

x

–4 –3 –2 –1 0 1 2 3 4

–1

–2

–3

–4

y

4

3

2

1

x

–8 –6 –4 –2 0 2 4 6 8

–1

–2

–3

–4

Plotting a Point

A point is given by its coordinates. This is written as two numbers, separated by a comma and in brackets. The first number is the x-ordinate, and the second is the y-ordinate.

Example

Plot the points A(4, 3) and B(0, 7)

y

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0 x

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

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Make sure you draw your axes on squared or graph paper.

Make sure your scales are even and start at zero where the axes cross.

This point is called the origin.

Put arrows of the right and top of the axes, with x and y beside them.

If you have negative values, continue the axes left and down.

The scales must be even, but do not have to be the same as each other.

Points can be marked with either a small circle or a cross.

B

A

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