Coordinate Axes in Three Dimensions
We have learnt about representing a point in 2D plane but in real life we generally deal with 3D planes. Hence we need an additional parameter i.e. height of the point to locate it in the 3D plane. Thus we make use of 3 coordinate axes to represent the point in the plane.
X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis
Cartesian coordinate system in 3 dimensions uses three axes to show a point in 3 dimensional space. These axes are X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis. Similar to 2D plane, these axes are placed mutually perpendicular to each other. X-axis is the horizontal axis and Y-axis is the vertical axis. Z-axis is generally represented as the third axis mutually perpendicular to the X and Y axis. The point of intersection of X-axis, Y-axis and Z-axis in 3D plane is called the Origin.
Each point in the 3D cartesian coordinate system is determined using its x, y and z coordinate and represented as (x, y, z). The Origin is represented using O(0, 0, 0). The X-axis is divided into two parts by the origin i.e. OX and OX’. OX’ is used to show numbers with negative X coordinate. Similarly Y-axis is divided into two parts by the origin i.e. OY and OY’. OY’ is used to show numbers with negative Y coordinate. Similarly Z-axis is divided into two parts by the origin i.e. OZ and OZ’. The origin also divides the entire 3D plane in eight equal parts called octants.
Coordinate Axes in Coordinate Geometry
Coordinate Axes are the fundamental of the concept in Coordinate Geometry, which is the amalgamation of two branches of mathematics, i.e., algebra and geometry. The basic idea of coordinate geometry is to study the properties of various figures in mathematics i.e., points, lines, curves, etc.
Thus, Coordinate Axes form the basis of coordinate geometry which is the branch of mathematics dealing with the plotting of points, lines, and curves on the coordinate axes system or the Euclidean plane. In this article, we will learn about the Coordinate Axes in detail.
Table of Content
- What are Coordinate Axes?
- Coordinate Axes in Two Dimension
- Coordinate Axes in Polar Coordinate System
- Coordinate Axes in Three Dimensions
- Coordinate Axes in Other Coordinate Systems
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