Cartesian System

Coordinate Geometry • Class 9 Mathematics • NCERT • CBSE

The Cartesian coordinate system uses two perpendicular number lines (x-axis and y-axis) to locate points in a plane. Every point is represented as an ordered pair (x, y). The plane is divided into four quadrants by the two axes.

Key Formulas

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four quadrants in the Cartesian plane?
Q1 (first quadrant): x > 0, y > 0 — e.g., (3, 4). Q2: x < 0, y > 0 — e.g., (−2, 5). Q3: x < 0, y < 0 — e.g., (−1, −3). Q4: x > 0, y < 0 — e.g., (4, −2). Points on the x-axis have y = 0; on the y-axis have x = 0; origin (0,0) is not in any quadrant.
What is the distance formula and how do you apply it?
Distance between two points P(x₁, y₁) and Q(x₂, y₂): d = √[(x₂−x₁)² + (y₂−y₁)²]. Steps: (1) Find x₂−x₁ and y₂−y₁, (2) Square both, (3) Add, (4) Take square root. Example: distance between (1, 2) and (4, 6) = √[(4−1)² + (6−2)²] = √[9+16] = √25 = 5.
How do you find the midpoint of a line segment?
Midpoint M of segment joining A(x₁, y₁) and B(x₂, y₂): M = ((x₁+x₂)/2, (y₁+y₂)/2). Simply take the average of the x-coordinates and average of y-coordinates. Example: midpoint of (2, 4) and (6, 8) = ((2+6)/2, (4+8)/2) = (4, 6).

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