As the name implies, an ordered pair is a pair of items with specific importance for the order they are placed. In coordinate geometry, ordered pairs are commonly used to represent a point on a coordinate plane. They’re also used to represent relational aspects. Let’s look into ordered pairs in greater detail, including their definition, meaning, attributes, and more.
What is an Ordered Pair?
A pair created by two components parted by a comma and written inside parentheses is known as an ordered pair. For example, (x, y) denotes an ordered pair, with ‘x’ as the first element and ‘y’ as the second element. These elements have different names depending on the context in which they are used, and they can be variables or constants. In an ordered pair, the order of the items is significant. It means that (x, y) may not always be equivalent to (y, x).
Role of Ordered Pair in Coordinate Geometry
In coordinate geometry, the position of a point on the coordinate plane concerning the origin is represented as an ordered pair. Two perpendicular intersecting lines, one horizontal (x-axis) and the other vertical (y-axis) constitute a coordinate plane (y-axis). The origin is the point where both axes intersect. Every point on the coordinate plane is represented by an ordered pair (x, y), with x as the x-coordinate and y as the y-coordinate. More distinctions between the elements of the ordered pair used in geometry can be seen here.
Graphing Ordered Pairs
In coordinate geometry, we know the difference between the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate of an ordered pair. So let’s look at how to graph ordered pairs.
- Step 1: Always begin at the origin and work your way horizontally by |x| units to the right if x is positive and to the left, if x is negative.
- Step 2: In coordinate geometry, we now know the difference between the x-coordinate and the y-coordinate of an ordered pair. Let’s look at how to graph ordered pairs.
- Step 3: Always begin at the origin and work your way horizontally by |x| units to the right if x is positive and to the left, if x is negative.
Ordered Pair Explanation
After learning about an ordered pair, let’s discuss its explanation!
Pair of Ordered = (x, y)
where x = abscissa is the measure of a point’s distance from the x-axis.
And y = ordinate, the distance between a point and the y-axis.
We must place a dot at the ordered pair’s coordinates to graph a point. The x-coordinate indicates how many steps are required to reach the x-axis. The y-coordinate indicates that we will be moving along the y-axis in a large number of steps.
Ordered Pair in Sets
We’ve seen how ordered pairs are utilized in coordinate geometry to locate a point up to this point. They are, however, utilized in set theory in a different context. The cartesian product collects all feasible ordered pairings from set A to set B. If A = 1, 2, 3 and B = a, b, c, the cartesian product is A x B = (1, a), (1, b), (1, c), (2, a), (2, b), (2, c), (3, a), (3, b), (3, c), and it is a set created by all ordered pairings (x, y) where x is in A and y is in B. A relation is any subset of the cartesian product. {(1, a), (1, b), (3, c)}, for example, is a relation.
Equality Property of Ordered Pairs
If (x, y) = (a, b), then x = a and y = b for any two ordered pairs (x, y) and (a, b) (either in coordinate geometry or in relations). In other words, if two ordered pairs are equal, so are their corresponding elements. It is known as the “ordered pair equality property.” Consider the following scenario:
- If (x, y) is equal to (2, -3), then x is equal to 2, and y is equal to -3.
- If (x + 1, y – 2) is equal to (-3, 5) then x + 1 is equal to -3 and y – 2 is equal to 5.
Important Facts Related to Ordered Pair
- The Cartesian plane was constructed by Rene Descartes and Pierre de Fermat, two mathematicians who invented analytic geometry in the 16th century.
- In computing and programming languages, ordered pairs are commonly employed.
- 2-tuples, or sequences of length 2, are another name for ordered pairs.
Conclusion
An ordered pair comprises the x (abscissa) and y (ordinate) coordinates, with two values given in parenthesis in a certain order. It helps with visual comprehension by facilitating a point’s position on the Cartesian plane. The numeric values of an ordered pair can be either integers or fractions.