Skip to content
Brainsladder

Plot Ordered Pairs in All Four Quadrants

Students extend their understanding of the coordinate plane to include all four quadrants by using negative coordinates. They plot and identify points given ordered pairs with negative values and recognize the relationship between the signs of the coordinates and the quadrant a point is in.

Try three of them

Real questions from this skill, graded here. No account, and nothing is saved.

Plot Ordered Pairs in All Four Quadrants

Grade 6 · Negative Numbers and the Number Line · question 1 of 3

0 of 20

20 rungs. A star at the top.

M−8−6−4−22468−8−6−4−224680

On a grid map of a zoo, point M marks the penguin pool. Where on the map is the penguin pool?

Where is the point?

How it is taught

0:00 of 2:46

An ordered pair is a point named by x then y.

When x is 0, the point sits on the y-axis.

Read it: Points in four quadrants

P is the point (−5, 2). Its first number is negative, so the walk from O, (0, 0), goes 5 to the left, to C. Its second number is positive, so the walk then goes 2 up. P is in Quadrant II.

  1. Start at O, (0, 0), where the two axes cross.
  2. Walk the first number across: right if it is positive, left if it is negative.
  3. Walk the second number up if it is positive, down if it is negative.

The signs say which way to walk, so they say the quadrant: a negative first number and a positive second number always land in Quadrant II.

Flipping a point over the y-axis changes the sign of its first number: (−5, 2) and (5, 2) are mirror images.

Two points that share a number sit on one line. If an axis lies between them, add their two distances to it.

The first number goes across and the second goes up. Their signs say which way.

Walking right for −5, which lands on (5, 2) in Quadrant I.

A negative first number goes left: (−5, 2) is in Quadrant II.

Reflect (−7, 1) over the y-axis. The image is (___, 1) — 7. Over the y-axis the first number changes sign: (−7, 1) becomes (7, 1).

Plot (-3, 2)

Today we'll plot a point on the coordinate plane — even when the numbers are negative. Let's plot the point negative three, two.

Plot the point (-3, 2)xy-5-4-3-2-101234554321-1-2-3-4-5IIIIIIIV(-3, 2)xystart(-3, 2)QUADRANTII(-3, 2)
Grade 6 · Negative coordinates and the four quadrants

Here's our coordinate plane. The x-axis runs left and right. The y-axis runs up and down.

The two axes split the plane into four quadrants — labeled one, two, three, and four.

Our ordered pair is negative three, two. The first number is x, the second is y.

We always start at the origin — the spot where the axes cross.

First, the x-coordinate. It's negative three. Negative means we move LEFT.

So we slide three units to the left.

Next, the y-coordinate. It's positive two. Positive means we move UP.

So we slide two units up.

We've arrived. Mark the point right there.

Negative x and positive y land us in the top-left region — that's Quadrant Two.

The point negative three, two sits in Quadrant Two. Nicely plotted!

What you see

While they climb, your page writes one true line to ask about tonight, and a short note each Sunday.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics
Did you know?

A chessboard has 64 squares — share them out between the 8 rows and each row holds exactly 8.

Today’s goal
1 star — one skill mastered, every rung of its ladder climbed
Climbing now
Divide within 100

An example student.

MayaGrade 3 · Mathematics

Maya earned 2 stars this week — Interpret multiplication as equal groups, which took 6 answers over 3 days before its star landed 3 days ago and Multiply by 6, 7, 8 and 9. Next up: Divide within 100.

An example week.

More of the library

Every skill has a page

Practise this skill free

14 days of every skill, practice packets, Fluency sheets and up to four students. No card.

Start free