Abscissa
The x-coordinate in a rectangular coordinate system, critical for defining spatial positions.
What is Abscissa?
The abscissa is the term used to describe the x-coordinate of a point in the Cartesian coordinate system. It represents the horizontal distance of a point from the vertical y-axis. When plotting a point on a graph, coordinates are written in the form (x,y)(x, y)(x,y), where the first value, x, is the abscissa. For example, in the point (5,2)(5, 2)(5,2), the abscissa is 5, meaning the point lies 5 units to the right of the y-axis. The abscissa helps determine the exact horizontal location of a point on a two-dimensional plane. It is often used in mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer graphics. The vertical component of the point, or the y-coordinate, is called the ordinate, and together, the abscissa and ordinate define the position of any point in the plane.
Related Keywords
In mathematics, the abscissa is the horizontal coordinate of a point in a Cartesian coordinate system, representing its distance from the vertical y-axis. It is usually denoted by the x-value in an ordered pair (x, y).
In a Cartesian coordinate system, the abscissa is a point's horizontal coordinate (x-value), which indicates how far it is from the vertical y-axis.
The x-axis in a Cartesian coordinate system is the horizontal reference line, and the abscissa is a point's x-coordinate, which is its horizontal separation from the origin.
The ordinate is the y-coordinate that indicates a point's vertical distance from the x-axis in a Cartesian coordinate system, and the abscissa is the x-coordinate that indicates a point's horizontal distance from the y-axis. When combined, they provide the precise location of a point on the plane.