GOZUNTA
Try it now
All courses Math Foundations · MF.SN.5 27 of 60
Plot, read, and interpret points in all four quadrants on the coordinate plane.

Read a plotted ordered pair

Problem
On a coordinate plane, point P is plotted 4 units to the left of the origin and 3 units up. What is the ordered pair for point P?
A coordinate plane with labeled x- and y-axes and one highlighted point P in Quadrant II. The point is 4 units left of the origin and 3 units up, with dashed guide lines to the axes. Open full size
Your answer
With a free account

Choose exactly what to practice.

Browse the learning objectives and included problem types, then build a session around the math you want to work on.

Create a free account
With paid access

Make a more precise practice set.

Choose from the complete range of objectives and problem types in your subscribed course when building a session.

Compare plans

Hint

Find the horizontal movement first: 4 units left of the origin means the x-value is negative.

Ordered pairs are written as (x, y): horizontal first, vertical second. Left makes x negative, and up makes y positive.

Solution walkthrough

01

Read the horizontal movement first

\[x~=~-4\]

The point is 4 units to the left of the origin. Left on the coordinate plane means the x-coordinate is negative, so the first coordinate is -4.

02

Read the vertical movement second

\[y~=~3\]

The point is 3 units up from the origin. Up means the y-coordinate is positive, so the second coordinate is 3.

03

Write the ordered pair in the correct order

\[P~=~(-4,~3)\]

Ordered pairs are written as (x, y), so you put the horizontal value first and the vertical value second.

04

Check the location

\[(-4,~3)~→~\text{left}~4,~\text{up}~3\]

Starting at the origin, moving left 4 and up 3 lands exactly where point P is described.

+

Another way

  1. You can picture tracing from point P to the x-axis first to get -4, then to the y-axis to get 3.

!

Common mistake

Writing (3, -4). That reverses the coordinates and also puts the negative sign on the wrong value. The point goes left 4 first, so x = -4, then up 3, so y = 3.