Meaning of Ordinate
Ordinate is a term associated with the planar representation of a point in the cartesian coordinate system. The ordinate in the coordinate system refers to the y coordinate of any point in a cartesian plane. It refers to the perpendicular distance of the point from the X-axis and is parallel to the Y-axis. The ordinate gives the horizontal distance of a point from the origin. For a set of points having the same ordinate and different abscissa, the line joining these points is a straight line parallel to the X-axis.
Cartesian Coordinate System
The Cartesian coordinate system was developed by Rene Descartes, a great Mathematician. It is used to represent the position of an object along with its dimensions in a plane or space. The cartesian plane is a two-dimensional representation of geometric figures. The two dimensions: length and width are represented by the X and Y coordinates respectively. Similarly in the cartesian space, the object is represented as a 3-dimensional view. The three dimensions of the object represented by X, Y, and Z axes are length, width, and height respectively. The point in a cartesian plane is represented along with its coordinates as P (x, y). Similarly, a point in a cartesian space is represented as P (x, y, z).
Plotting Ordinates in Coordinate System
The cartesian plane consists of two axes X and Y mutually perpendicular to each other. In other words, the cartesian plane is a representation of two number lines mutually perpendicular to each other. The perpendicular axes divide the plane into four equal parts called the quadrants.
The ordinate in the coordinate system of a point gives the perpendicular distance of a point from the X-axis. i.e. the vertical distance of a point from the origin. If a point is represented by A (x, y), it is plotted on a cartesian plane at a distance of x unit from the Y-axis and a distance of x units from the Y-axis. The point lies in the first quadrant if both x and y are positive. It lies in the second quadrant if x is negative and y is positive. The point is in the third quadrant if both x and y are negative. It is in the fourth quadrant if x is positive and y is negative.
An example of plotting a point P (2, 3) is shown in the figure below.
The Ordinate in Coordinate System Examples
Identify the ordinate and abscissa of the points represented by A, B, C, D, and E in the coordinate system example given in the figure. Also, state the quadrant to which the point belongs.
Solution:
Identify the ordinate in coordinate system examples and find the quadrant to which the following points belong.
K (1, 3) L (-4, -5) M (-3, 2) N (4, -2) O (0, 0)
Solution:
Difference between Ordinate and Abscissa
Fun Quiz
A point in the exterior of a plane closed geometric polygon is represented by the coordinates (5, 9). What is the ordinate of the point?
5
9
59
Which one of the following is true while plotting ordinates in the coordinate system as 0?
The point lies on Y-axis
The point lies on X-axis
The point lies at the origin
If the point has a negative ordinate, the point in the cartesian plane may belong to ______
The first and third quadrant
The third and fourth quadrant
The first and fourth quadrant
The second and third quadrant
Importance of Ordinates in Maths
Ordinates usually refer to the perpendicular distance of the point from the X-axis and is parallel to the Y-axis. It gives a horizontal distance of a point from the origin. For any given set of points having the same ordinate but different abscissa, the line joining these points is a straight line that’s parallel to the X-axis. All students of Maths need to know about ordinates and coordinates before they sit for Coordinate Geometry exams. All students who need to do well in exams as well as pursue Maths, later on, can refer to the page on Vedantu. Maths is one subject that will always prove to be beneficial for all students as it has implications throughout a student's life.
How does Vedantu prepare Students for Ordinates in Maths
Vedantu has Ordinate on its platform which all Maths students can read and understand. It has compact information on Ordinates that all students can understand and apply. This material has been provided free of cost so that students do not hesitate before reading from the page.
FAQs on Ordinate
1. What does Ordinates mean?
Ordinate is a word that's associated with the planar representation of a point in the cartesian coordinate system. The ordinate belonging to the coordinate system refers to the y coordinate of any point in a cartesian plane. It refers to the perpendicular distance of the point from the X-axis and is parallel to the Y-axis. More about this has been explained in Ordinate on Vedantu so that all students of Maths can understand the topic well. This aspect of Coordinate Geometry needs to be understood properly so that any sum that comes from here can be easily tackled.
2. What is the Cartesian Coordinate system?
The Cartesian Coordinate System was developed by Rene Descartes, who happened to be a great mathematician. It is used to represent the position of any object along with its dimensions in a plane or a space. It is a two-dimensional representation of geometric figures. The explanation for the Cartesian Coordinate System has been provided on Vedantu’s e-learning platform if the students read from Ordinate. This page is a comprehensive guide and can be gone through so as to understand all the related concepts.
3. How can students plot ordinates in the coordinate system?
The ordinate in the coordinate system of any point provides the perpendicular distance of a point from the X-axis. i.e. the vertical distance of a point from its origin. Say, any point is represented by A (x, y), it is plotted on a cartesian plane at a distance of x unit from the Y-axis and a distance of x units from the Y-axis. Students will completely understand how to plot ordinates in the coordinate system if they read from Ordinate on Vedantu.
This page has explained the entire mechanism behind how it's plotted so that students are not left with any lingering doubts on the same.
4. Where can the difference between ordinate and abscissa be understood?
The difference between both has been made quite clear in Ordinate.
This page has enlisted all those pointers that the students need to understand. The abscissa of a point is the perpendicular distance of the point from the Y-axis and the ordinate of a point is the perpendicular distance of the point from the Y-axis. A table explaining their distinctions is on Vedantu’s page. Students can go through the differences and then learn. They can also compile notes on the same after reading the page as that will help in retention of matter.
5. How can students get a crash course on Ordinates?
Students who wish to know about Ordinates can check out Ordinate on Vedantu’s online tutoring platform and then study from those. This page has all the information on Ordinates as well as Coordinate Geometry that they need. This page has been created by expert Maths teachers who know the topic inside out. Reading this page will enlighten the students about Ordinates well. They can also refer to this page for clarifying their doubts. Revising the content right before an exam always comes in handy as it prepares students in an ideal manner and leaves them stress-free.
6. What is a cartesian plane?
The Cartesian plane was formulated by Rene Descartes. It is used in Mathematics to represent the geometric shapes on a plane surface along with their dimensions. It gives the two-dimensional view of an object in the plane. The Cartesian plane defines a plane surface in terms of two mutually perpendicular coordinate axes X and Y. The point at which the two axes intersect is called the origin. In general, the standard form of representing a point in a coordinate plane is (x, y). The x coordinate or abscissa gives the horizontal distance and the y coordinate or the ordinate meaning gives the vertical distance of a point from the origin. The horizontal and vertical distance of a point at the origin is equal to zero and hence the point is represented as O (0, 0).
7. Describe the ‘ordinate’ meaning? How is it determined from a graph in the cartesian plane?
Ordinate is the Y coordinate of the point in a cartesian plane. The ordinate of a point corresponds to the perpendicular distance of the point from the X-axis and is measured parallel to Y-axis, If the ordinate is zero, the point lies on the X-axis. If the ordinate is positive, the point lies in the first quadrant if the abscissa is positive and the point lies in the second quadrant if the abscissa is negative, If the ordinate is negative, the point lies in the third quadrant if the abscissa is negative and the point lies in the fourth quadrant if the abscissa is positive. The ordinate is plotted in a cartesian plane at a unit distance away from the X-axis as given by the number representing the ordinate. For example, the ordinate of the point (3, - 5) is at a point 5 units below the X-axis and 3 units towards the left of the Y-axis.
