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 H( -3, -1 12), so we first find -3 on the x-axis and remember this grid line. The x-coordinate -3 tells us to move 3 units to the left of the origin — the negative horizontal direction.
Next, we find -1 12 on the y-axis and follow the corresponding horizontal line until it collides with the grid line from our x-coordinate. The y-coordinate -1 12 tells us to move 1 12 units down from the origin — the negative vertical direction.
The point H( -3, -1 12) lies on the point at which these two lines intersect.
