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 L( 2.5, -3.5), so we first find 2.5 on the x-axis and its corresponding vertical line. The x-coordinate 2.5 tells us to move 2.5 units to the right of the origin — the positive horizontal direction.
Next, we find -3.5 on the y-axis and follow this corresponding line until it collides with the line from our x-coordinate. The y-coordinate -3.5 tells us to move 3.5 units down from the origin — the negative vertical direction.
The point L( 2.5, -3.5) lies on the point at which these two lines intersect.
