The z-axis can be visualized as an extension of the 2D coordinate plane. The x-, y-, and z-axes can be drawn in a number of ways. The three axes are labeled the x-axis, y-axis, and the z-axis. A 3D coordinate plane is formed by the intersection of three axes that are perpendicular to each other at the origin. 3D coordinatesĪ 3D coordinate system can be used to specify the position of a point in 3D space. 6 is the x-coordinate and 4 is the y-coordinate of the point. The position of the point in the figure below is specified by the ordered pair, (6, 4). The coordinates are written as an ordered pair of numbers (x, y), where x indicates horizontal position and y indicates vertical position. The x- and y-coordinates indicate the position of a point in the 2D coordinate plane relative to the origin. The two axes (plural for axis) intersect at a point called the origin. 2D coordinatesĪ 2D coordinate plane is formed by the intersection of a horizontal number line called the x-axis and a vertical number line called the y-axis. The most commonly used are the 2D (two dimensional) and 3D (three dimensional) coordinate systems. Each coordinate tells you how far the point is to the left (if it is negative) or to the right (if it is positive) of the origin. A real number that matches the location of a point along a number line is called a coordinate of the point.įor the number line above, point A has a coordinate of -5, point B has a coordinate of 1, and the coordinate for point C is 4.
In mathematics, coordinates are a set of numbers that specify the position of a point in a coordinate system.Ī number line is a 1D (one dimensional) coordinate system. Home / geometry / coordinate plane / coordinates Coordinates