To reflect a point in the x-axis, use the same x-coordinate and take the opposite of the y-coordinate. To reflect a point in the y-axis, use the same y-coordinate and take the opposite of the x-coordinate.
(1 25, 1 45)
Practice makes perfect
We want to reflect a point in the x-axis and then in the y-axis of a coordinate plane. We need to follow two rules to do this.
To reflect a point in the x-axis, we use the same x-coordinate and take the opposite of the y-coordinate.
To reflect a point in the y-axis, we use the same y-coordinate and take the opposite of the x-coordinate.
Point
Reflection in the x-axis
Reflection in the y-axis
( x, y)
( x, - y)
( - x, - y)
( -1 25, -1 45)
( -1 25, 1 45)
( 1 25, 1 45)
As we can see, the reflection of the point is at (1 35,1 45). Let’s plot our point and its reflections on the coordinate plane.
We can see that the point is located at (1 25,1 45) after both reflections.
Extra
More About Coordinate Planes
A coordinate plane is formed by the intersection of a horizontal number line and a vertical number line. The number lines intersect at the origin and separate the coordinate plane into four regions called quadrants. An ordered pair is used to locate a point in a coordinate plane. The first coordinate represents the x-axis and the second coordinate the y-axis.
