Geometry for Elementary School/Coordinates

In this section, we will talk about coordinates, which are related to the position of figures.

Introduction

Coordinates are very useful in daily lives. Without them, the longitude and latitudes, and grid references would be lost, making it impossible to navigate. Many of the things you learn in computer literacy lessons, such as image editing, would be harder.

But what on earth are coordinates anyway? Coordinates is a means of getting the precise location of objects. For example, if you look at a map, you can easily locate a place given its easting and northing. However, those are for geography applications and are not useful for mathematic calculations. Therefore, two independent coordinate systems have been invented: The rectangular coordinate system (or Cartesian coordinate system), and the polar coordinate system. We will try to compare the two later. But first, let's learn what different coordinate systems can do.

Table of contents

• Rectangular coordinate system
• Polar coordinate system