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 F( -4, -3.5), so we first find -4 on the x-axis and remember this grid line. The x-coordinate -4 tells us to move 4 units to the left of the origin — the negative horizontal direction.
Next, we find -3.5 on the y-axis and follow the corresponding horizontal line until it collides with the grid 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 F( -4, -3.5) lies on the point at which these two lines intersect.
