medium difficulty5 min

Graphing contextual points

Graphing contextual points means turning a real-life description into ordered pairs and plotting them correctly on the coordinate plane.

In one line: Horizontal first, vertical second.

Practice This Concept

Understand it

In word problems, the direction in the story decides the signs of the coordinates. East and west affect the x-coordinate, while north and south affect the y-coordinate. Careful reading is important because reversing the directions changes the point completely.

Example

A point 4 units east and 1 unit south of the origin is plotted as (4, -1).

Formula and rule

Use x for horizontal movement and y for vertical movement.

Positive and negative signs depend on the direction from the origin.

See it worked out

Follow the example line by line, then use the same method on new questions.

Worked example

1If a shop is 3 units west and 5 units north of the origin, its coordinates are (-3, 5).
2West gives a negative x-value and north gives a positive y-value.

Method you can reuse

1Read the direction words carefully.
2Decide x-direction and y-direction.
3Assign positive or negative signs.
4Write the ordered pair.
5Plot the point on the graph.

Sketch it in your answer

Draw and label both axes, mark the scale, plot each point carefully, and note the quadrant if the question asks for it.

Check yourself

Answer the question in your head before opening the answer.

Try it yourself

A point is 4 units east and 1 unit south of the origin. What are its coordinates?

Think first, then show answer

The coordinates are (4, -1) because east means positive x and south means negative y.

Common wrong answer

A common wrong answer is ( -1, 4 ) for a point 4 units east and 1 unit south, because students reverse the order of the coordinates.

Don't mix this up

Students often swap east-west with north-south, or write the coordinates in reverse order.

Exam tip

Decide direction first, then assign the sign, then plot the point. This prevents most graphing mistakes.

Write it in the exam

Each point is worth about one mark. Write point 1 for a 1-mark question and keep adding points as the marks go up.

How CBSE asks it

Convert a verbal description into coordinates, plot points from a map-style question, or identify the quadrant of a location.

1
Enough for 1 mark
Graphing contextual points means turning a real-life description into ordered pairs and plotting them correctly on the coordinate plane.
2
Add for 2 marks
Example: A point 4 units east and 1 unit south of the origin is plotted as (4, -1).
3
Add for 3 marks
In word problems, the direction in the story decides the signs of the coordinates.

MCQ Quiz

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