Coordinates and the Cartesian Plane
Students learn about the Cartesian planeCopyright HiTe, Wikimedia Commons {PD}
A brief refresher on the Cartesian plane includes how points are written in (x, y) format and oriented to the axes, and which directions are positive and negative. Then students learn about what it means for a relation to be a function and how to determine domain and range of a set of data points from the modeling game found in the associated activity.
Many important engineering relationships are easily understood in the form of graphs. Graphing is essential to understanding the mathematics involved in all types of engineering. For example, civil engineers must understand graphing to be able to determine certain areas of stresses and strain within the building plans for bridges and other structures. In journal questions 1-5 (in the Assessment section), students consider the importance of creating visual representations of data, as well as possible data sources.
After this lesson, students should be able to:
- Describe the Cartesian plane and correctly label its parts.
- Explain the source of the name "Cartesian."
- Describe the naming convention for coordinates in the form (x, y).
- Explain what a function is and how to tell if a set of coordinates is a function.
- Determine the domain and range of a set of points.
- Plot a set of data points.
- Explain how understanding graphing will help with solving the challenge.