In an ordered pair, the x-coordinate comes first and the y-coordinate comes second.
Practice makes perfect
In an ( x, y) ordered pair, the first number tells us the x-coordinate of the point and the second number tells us the y-coordinate of the point. We want to graph A( -3 12, -3), so we first find -3 12 on the x-axis and its corresponding vertical line. The x-coordinate -3 12 tells us to move 3 12 units to the left of the origin — the negative horizontal direction.
Next, we find -3 on the y-axis and follow this grid line until it collides with the line from our x-coordinate. The y-coordinate -3 tells us to move 3 units down from the origin — the negative vertical direction.
The point A( -3 12, -3) lies on the point at which these two lines intersect.
