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. To graph A( 4 34, -1 14), we first find 4 34 on the x-axis and its corresponding vertical line. The x-coordinate 4 34 tells us to move 4 34 units to the right of the origin — the positive horizontal direction.
Next, we find -1 14 on the y-axis and follow the corresponding horizontal line until it collides with the line from our x-coordinate. The y-coordinate -1 14 tells us to move 1 14 units down from the origin — the negative vertical direction.
The point A( 4 34, -1 14) lies on the point at which these two lines intersect.
