Cartesian coordinates

(noun)

The coordinates of a point measured from an origin along a horizontal axis from left to right (the xxx-axis) and along a vertical axis from bottom to top (the yyy-axis). 

Related Terms

  • ordered pair

Examples of Cartesian coordinates in the following topics:

  • The Cartesian System

    • The Cartesian coordinate system is used to visualize points on a graph by showing the points' distances from two axes.
    • A Cartesian coordinate system is used to graph points.
    • The Cartesian coordinate system is broken into four quadrants by the two axes.
    • The four quadrants of theCartesian coordinate system.
    • The Cartesian coordinate system with 4 points plotted, including the origin, at (0,0)(0,0)(0,0).
  • Converting Between Polar and Cartesian Coordinates

    • Polar and Cartesian coordinates can be interconverted using the Pythagorean Theorem and trigonometry.
    • When given a set of polar coordinates, we may need to convert them to rectangular coordinates.
    • A right triangle with rectangular (Cartesian) coordinates and equivalent polar coordinates.
    • A right triangle with rectangular (Cartesian) coordinates and equivalent polar coordinates.
    • Derive and use the formulae for converting between Polar and Cartesian coordinates
  • Other Curves in Polar Coordinates

    • Some curves have a simple expression in polar coordinates, whereas they would be very complex to represent in Cartesian coordinates.
    • To graph in the rectangular coordinate system we construct a table of xxx and yyy  values.
    • To graph in the polar coordinate system we construct a table of rrr and θ\thetaθ values.
  • Introduction to Circles

    • Since we know a circle is the set of points a fixed distance from a center point, let's look at how we can construct a circle in a Cartesian coordinate plane with variables xxx and yyy.
    • The circle with center (a,b)\left(a,b\right)(a,b) is graphed in the Cartesian plane.
  • Introduction to the Polar Coordinate System

    • The polar coordinate system is an alternate coordinate system where the two variables are rrr and θ\thetaθ, instead of xxx and yyy.
    • When we think about plotting points in the plane, we usually think of rectangular coordinates (x,y)(x,y)(x,y) in the Cartesian coordinate plane.
    • The reference point (analogous to the origin of a Cartesian system) is called the pole, and the ray from the pole in the reference direction is the polar axis.
    • The radial coordinate is often denoted by rrr or $ρ$ , and the angular coordinate by $ϕ$, $θ$, or ttt.
    • In green, the point with radial coordinate 333 and angular coordinate 606060 degrees or (3,60∘)(3,60^{\circ})(3,60​∘​​).
  • Standard Equations of Hyperbolas

    • If the transverse axis of any hyperbola is aligned with the x-axis of a Cartesian coordinate system and is centered on the origin, the equation of the hyperbola can be written as:
  • Equations in Two Variables

    • Equations in two variables often express a relationship between the variables xxx and yyy, which correspond to Cartesian coordinates.
  • Functions and Their Notation

    • If both the input and output are real numbers then the ordered pair can be viewed as the Cartesian coordinates of a point on the graph of the function.
  • Parts of a Parabola

    • Parabolas have several recognizable features that characterize their shape and placement on the Cartesian plane.
    • Due to the fact that parabolas are symmetric, the xxx-coordinate of the vertex is exactly in the middle of the xxx-coordinates of the two roots.
  • Graphing Equations

    • We will use the Cartesian plane, in which the xxx-axis is a horizontal line and the yyy-axis is a vertical line.
    • After creating a few xxx and yyy ordered pairs, we will plot them on the Cartesian plane and connect the points.
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