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Auralith Learning

Year 8 · Maths · Coordinates and straight lines · Lesson 1

Coordinates and lines

Learn to read and plot coordinates in all four quadrants, draw and name horizontal and vertical lines, find where lines cross, find midpoints and complete shapes on a grid.

Whiteboard video lesson: Coordinates and lines

30-minute video lesson

Teaching, worked examples and 20 practice questions solved step by step.

Watch free for a month

What your child will learn

  • Read and plot coordinates in all four quadrants
  • Draw and recognise lines like x = 2 and y = −1
  • Find where two lines cross
  • Find the midpoint of two points
  • Use coordinates to complete shapes

The method

  1. Write coordinates as (x, y): across first, then up or down.
  2. Positive goes right or up; negative goes left or down.
  3. x = a number is a vertical line.
  4. y = a number is a horizontal line.

Key words: coordinates, x-axis, y-axis, origin, midpoint.

Worked examples

The first three practice questions from the lesson, with every step.

Question 1

Write down the coordinates of point A.

  1. Step 1: Look at the grid
  2. Step 2: Across: 4 right, so x = 4
  3. Step 3: Then: 3 up, so y = 3

Answer: A (4, 3)

Question 2

Write down the coordinates of point B.

  1. Step 1: Look at the grid
  2. Step 2: Across: 2 left, so x = −2
  3. Step 3: Then: 5 up, so y = 5

Answer: B (−2, 5)

Question 3

Write down the coordinates of point C.

  1. Step 1: Look at the grid
  2. Step 2: Across: 4 left, so x = −4
  3. Step 3: Then: 3 down, so y = −3

Answer: C (−4, −3)