#2. abscissa definition how to

The abscissa is a term related to a two-dimensional graph and the goal of a graph is to visually represent a set of data in a way that all of the data can be seen simultaneously processed by the interpreter. Further Explanation: Abscissa and Data Representation The point (-3, 3) has a distance of -3 from the origin on the x-axis and a distance of 3 from the origin on the y-axis. We will illustrate the Abscissa and Ordinate using different graphs.įigure 3 – The point (-3, 3) in the cartesian planeįigure 3 shows the two-dimensional cartesian plane, The horizontal axis is in the range -4 to +3 and whereas the vertical axis has a range from 0 to +3, There is a point at the place (-3, 3), The inscription (-3, 3) means that the point has abscissa of -3 and the ordinate of 3. By using the abscissa and the ordinate a pattern or a trend of the data can also be extracted by looking at the points. In mathematics, the abscissa and the ordinate refer to the first and second coordinates of a point in a Cartesian coordinate system. Both the Abscissa and Ordinate define the locations of the point in the Cartesian two-dimensional plane.

The length of a point from the y-axis rising with the x-axis is named abscissa. An ordered pair is operated to indicate a point in the Cartesian plane and the first coordinate (x) in the plane is named the abscissa, and the second coordinate (y) in the plane is the ordinate. Y is the ordinate, y-axis, or vertical axis here and similarly, x is the abscissa, x-axis, or horizontal axis here. On the other hand, the ordinate which is also named the y-axis is the length of a point from the x-axis rising with the y-axis.įor instance, assume (x, y) is given as an ordered pair. The abscissa is also called the x-axis of the point and is the distance of a point from the y-axis, rising with the x-axis. The detail of their differences is explained in the below paragraph. The main difference between the abscissa and ordinate is that the abscissa refers to the y-axis and the ordinate refers to the y-axis.

#2. abscissa definition how to

Let’s learn how to measure the abscissa or $x$-coordinate of any point from an understandable example.Figure 1 – Example of Abscissa and Ordinate. The distance from origin to the intersecting point of the perpendicular line on $x$-axis is the abscissa or $x$-coordinate.From any point, draw a perpendicular line to $x$-axis.There are two simple steps to find the abscissa of any point in geometry. The horizontal distance $d$ is called the abscissa or $x$-coordinate of the point $P$. Here, $P$ is a point on the plane and the horizontal distance of this point is measured as $d$ units from origin by comparing it with the number line on $x$-axis and also taking $y$-axis as base line. While measuring the abscissa or $x$-coordinate of a point, the $y$-axis is considered as base line because the $y$-axis is passed through the origin in bi-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system.

Hence, the abscissa is also called as the $x$-coordinate of the point. It is measured from origin in horizontal direction by comparing the number line on the $x$-axis.