QUADRANTS OF A GRAPH HOW TO

For example, abscissa = -4 means, starting from the origin, we need to go along the x-axis in a negative direction (left) up to 4 units.

The abscissa gives the information about the horizontal distance of the point from the Y-axis and its sign tells the direction, i.e., left or right.

Without even plotting it on a graph, by observing its sign (-ve, +ve) we can make out that it lies in quadrant II. For example, we are given a point P (-4,6). This gives an idea about the quadrant in which the given point lies.

QUADRANTS OF A GRAPH HOW TO

To understand how to plot a point in the four quadrants, we need to observe the signs of an x-coordinate (also called abscissa) and a y-coordinate (also called ordinate). The numbers in the quadrant are expressed in the ordered pair (a, b) where 'a' is the x- coordinate and 'b' is the y-coordinate. So, the sign convention of the four quadrants is expressed as shown in the figure given below: Similarly, on the vertical axis 'y', as we go in the upward direction, the value goes on increasing. If we observe the horizontal axis 'x', as we move from left to right, we see that the value of the coordinates increases. The values of x and y at the origin are (0,0). The point where the X-axis and the Y-axis meet is called the origin. It should be noted that the quadrants are numbered in an anti-clockwise direction. In this quadrant, the x-coordinate is positive and the y-coordinate is negative. The fourth quadrant is on the lower right-hand corner of the plane.

In this quadrant, both x and y-coordinates are negative. The third quadrant is on the lower left-hand corner of the plane.In this quadrant, the x-coordinate is negative and the y-coordinate is positive. The second quadrant is on the upper left-hand corner of the plane.In this quadrant, both x and y-coordinates are positive. The first quadrant is on the upper right-hand corner of the plane.The X and the Y axes divide the plane into four graph quadrants:

Quadrants of a graph