Definition
An ordered pair is a pair of numbers written in parentheses (x, y) that describes a point on a coordinate plane. The first number is the x-coordinate and the second is the y-coordinate.
The word "ordered" is key. Just like a street address where the street name comes first and the house number comes second, the x-value always comes before the y-value.
Examples
- (3, 5) means go 3 right and 5 up.
- (0, 0) is the origin of the coordinate plane.
- (4, 1) and (1, 4) are different points because order matters.