WHAT ARE COORDINATES ?

Coordinates are sets of values which help to show

the exact position of a point in the coordinate
plane.

WHAT IS COORDINATE GEOMETRY?

Coordinate Geometry is the branch of mathematics

that helps us to exactly locate a given point with the
help of an ordered pair of numbers.

WHAT IS A 2 DIMENSIONAL COORDINATE

GEOMETRY?

A 2 dimensional coordinate Euclidean space or bi-

dimensional space or a 2-space is a geometric
setting in which two values called parameters are
required to determine the position of an element
on the plane. The 2D space can be seen as a
projection of the physical universe onto a plane.
The 2D are called length and width. The 2D
coordinates geometry deals with the X and Y
coordinates which are represented on a Cartesian
plane. It can be seen as a flat plane figure or a
shape that has two dimension [ length and width]
as said earlier. The 2D does not have any thickness
and can be measured in only two faces. Examples of
2D shapes are kite, circles , rectangles, squares,
hexagon , oval e.t.c.

The 2d coordinate geometry is also said to be the

study of graphs. It is also said to be involved in the
assigning of each and every point in a two-
dimensional space with coordinates that can be
used to identify the points. The Cartesian plane as
mentioned above is formed from the intersection of
the x axis and y axis perpendicularly to each other
at the point called the “ORIGIN”.
2D coordinates geometry is also known as
Cartesian geometry.
Diagrammatic representation of the Cartesian
geometry
Equations of coordinate geometry

Below are some important formulas of coordinate

geometry.
1.) The equation of a straight line - y = mx +c
2.) The equation of a circle - 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 𝑟 2
3.) The equation of a parabola - 𝑦 2 = 4𝑎𝑥
𝑥2 𝑦2
4.) The equation of an ellipse - − =1
𝑎2 𝑏2

Definition of terms

Circle: A set of all points in a coordinate plane

equidistant from a fixed point in the plane is defined
as a Circle.

Parabola: A set of fixed points plane and all the

points in the coordinate plane that are equidistant
from the fixed straight line is defined as a Parabola.
Ellipse: A set of all points in a plane where the sum
of the distances between two fixed points in the plane
is constant is defined as an Ellipse.

Hyperbola: A set of all points in a plane where the

difference in distance between two fixed points in the
plane is constant is known as a Hyperbola.

Some of the Important Two-Dimensional

Coordinate Geometry Terms
let us understand some important terms used in 2-
dimensional geometry.
Axes of Coordinates
In the above figure OX and OY are called X-axis and
Y-axis respectively. And both together are known as
axes of coordinates.
Origin
The point of intersection of the axes is called the
origin; it is O.
Abscissa
The distance of any point on the plane from the Y-axis
is called the abscissa.
Ordinate
The distance of any point on the plane from the X-axis
is said to be ordinate.
Coordinate of the Origin
It has zero distance from both the axes. Hence the
coordinates of the origin are (0, 0).
Quadrant
The axes divide the plane into four parts. These four
parts are said to be quadrants.
th
A quadrant is ¼ the part of a plane divided by
coordinate axes.

Application of coordinate geometry in our daily

lives

1) It is used to locate the position of aircraft in

space
2) It is used in developing various games which
specify the location of the object
 3)It is used in describing maps that we see in our
mobile phones and the computer to locate the
position
4) It is also used by scanners and photocopying
machine to produce the exact copy of the
original image provided to it
5) It is also used in GPS for locating distances of
two places

Distance Between Two Points

Let two points be A (x1,y1) and B( x2,y2).
Then Distance Formula is given as
D = √(𝑥2 − 𝑥1 ) + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2
For example
If point A(1,3) and point B(1,-2). Find the distance
between these two points
SOLUTION

D =√(1 − 1)2 + 3 − (−2)2

 = √25
= 5

Other important terms

1) The coordinate of a point are a pair numbers
that define its exact location on a 2-dimensional
plane .
2) Slope of a line is given by two methods
𝑦 2 −𝑦 1
M =tan 𝜃 or M = 𝑥 2 −𝑥 1

Section Formula in Coordinate Geometry

The section formula is useful to find the coordinates
of a point that divides the line segment joining the
points (x1,y1)(x1,y1) and (x2,y2)(x2,y2) in the
ratio m:nm:n. The point dividing the given two points
lies on the line joining the two points and is available
either between the two points or outside the line
segment between the points.
Internal sectional formula
𝑚𝑥 2 +𝑛𝑥 1 𝑚𝑦 2 +𝑛𝑦 2
(x,y = , )
𝑚+𝑛 𝑚+𝑛
 External sectional formula

𝑚𝑥 2 −𝑛𝑥 1 𝑚𝑦 2 −𝑛𝑦 2
(x,y = , )
𝑚−𝑛 𝑚−𝑛

BEWARE OF THE SIGNS IN BOTH FORMULA

Solved Example
Example: Find the coordinates of the point which
divides the line segment joining P(-3,-
4) and Q(6,8) in the ratio 1:2.
Let M(x,y) be the point which divides PQ in the
ratio 1:2, then
1×6+2×(−3)
X= =0
1+2
1×8+2×(−4)
Y= =0
1+2
Therefore origin (0,0) the point PQ into ratio 1:2

Area of a Triangle
The area of a triangle whose coordinates of vertices
are (x1, y1) , (x2, y2) and (x3, y3)
The area of a triangle ABC whose vertices are A(x1,
y1) , B(x2, y2) and C(x3, y3) is given by

1
[x1(y2−y3)+x2(y3−y1)+x3(y1−y2)]12[x1(y2−y3)+x2(y
2
3−y1)+x3(y1−y2)]
Note :
 • To find the area of a polygon we divide it in
triangles and take the numerical value of the area
of each of the triangles.
• Three points A(x1, y1) , B(x2, y2) and C(x3, y3) are
collinear if and only if
Area of triangle = 0
1
[x1(y2−y3)+x2(y3−y1)+x3(y1−y2)]12[x1(y2−y3)+x2(y
2
3−y1)+x3(y1−y2)] = 0

Mid-Point Formula
The formula to find the midpoint of the line joining
the points (x1,y1)(x1,y1) and x2,y2)x2,y2) is a new
point, whose abscissa is the average of the x values
of the two given points, and the ordinate is the
average of the y values of the two given points. The
midpoint lies on the line joining the two points and is
located exactly between the two points.
𝑋1+𝑋2 𝑌1 +𝑌2
(X , Y)= ( + )
2 2
 in the diagram above the
midpoint of that line is (1,-1)
Example
Find the midpoint between these two points A(-7,3)
and B(4,-4)
 Solution
(-7,3) = 𝑥1, 𝑦1
(4,-4) = 𝑥2 , 𝑦2
Substituting it into the midpoint formula
−7+3 4+(−4)
, 2
2
= -2,0

The centroid of a Triangle

The centroid of a triangle is the point of intersection
of medians of a triangle. (Median is a line joining the
vertex of a triangle to the mid-point of the opposite
side.). The centroid of a triangle having its vertices
A(x1,y1)(x1,y1), B(x2,y2)(x2,y2), and
C(x3,y3)(x3,y3) is obtained from the following
formula.
𝑥1 +𝑥2 +𝑥3 𝑦1 +𝑦2 +𝑦3
(x,y)=( , )
3 3

Example
Find the centroid of the triangle having
its vertices A(5,3) B(3,9) C(7,6)

SOLUTION

5,3,7= 𝑋1 , 𝑋2 , 𝑋3
3,9,6 =𝑌1 , 𝑌2 , 𝑌3

Using the formula of the centroid

triangle
5+3+7 3+9+6
(X,Y) = ,
3 3

= 5, 5