Have you ever wondered how an artist is able to look at a blank canvas and create a visual expression through a painting?
The coordinate plane is a two-dimensional plane used to create graphs and is (typically) created by two perpendicular number lines called axes.
The x-axis and y-axis intersect to form four sections called quadrants.
Math originated and continues to be discovered to explain the world in which we live. The coordinate plane is a perfect example of this in action. A food scientist uses the coordinate plane to plot new data and create what is called a scatterplot. The scatterplot is a tool that scientists can use early on in their research to look for patterns and trends of their data and identify data points that are acting as outliers. A business investor uses the coordinate plane to graph order trends over time in hopes to find a pattern among consumer’s spending during different times of the year. The coordinate plane takes raw data and creates a mathematical picture.
Is a Coordinate Plane ALWAYS, SOMETIMES, or NEVER created with two perpendicular axes?
Sometimes, the axes don’t have to be perpendicular but it is so much easier when they are!
What's next: Check out Graphing Linear Equations to see the coordinate plane in action.