Precalculus : Cartesian Coordinate System

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Precalculus

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Plot Points

The point  is in which quadrant?

Possible Answers:

Lies on an axis

III

II

I

IV

Correct answer:

III

Explanation:

In order to determine in which quadrant the point lies, we must remember the order of the quadrants. The first quadrant is that where x and y are both positive, to the upper right of the origin. To move sequentially to the final quadrant, we go counterclockwise from the first quadrant, which means the second is where x is negative and y is positive, the third is where x and y are both negative, and the fourth is where x is positive and y is negative. We can see from our point (-3,-8) that x and y are both negative, which means the point lies in the third quadrant. 

Example Question #2 : Cartesian Coordinate System

 and  are located on the circle, with  forming its diameter. What is the area of the circle. 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Use the distance formula to find the length of 

.

Since the length of  is that of the diameter, the radius of the circle is .

Thus, the area of the circle is 

.

Example Question #3 : Plot Points

Which of the following coordinates does NOT fit on the graph of the corresponding function?

Varsity practice precalc

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When looking at the graph, it is clear that when ,  has a value less than . If we were to plug in the value of , our equation would come out as such:

Therefore, at , we get a , providing the coordinate .

Example Question #4 : Plot Points

Which of the following  coordinates does NOT correspond with the given function and graph?

Varsity practice precalc

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

When looking at the graph, it is clear that when ,  has a value greater than . When we plug in both  and  values into the function, it is clear that these values do not work for the function:

Example Question #5 : Plot Points

Which of the following  coordinates does NOT correspond with the given function and graph?

Varsity practice precalc

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If we are to plug  into our function, the values would not work and both sides of the equation would not be equal:

Therefore, we know that these coordinates do not lie on the graph of the function. 

Example Question #2 : Cartesian Coordinate System

Which of the following  coordinates does NOT correspond with the given function and graph?

Varsity practice precalc

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If we were to plug in the coordinate  into the function, we will find that it does not equate properly:

Since these values do not equate properly when plugged into the function, we now know that  does not fit on the provided graph. 

Example Question #1 : Cartesian Coordinate System

Given , which graph is the correct one?

Possible Answers:

Graph3

Grpah1

Graph2

Correct_graph

Correct answer:

Correct_graph

Explanation:

First, solve for .

Then, graph the  at .

Since the slope of the line is , you can graph the point  as well.

There is only one graph that fits these requirements.

Correct_graph

Example Question #131 : Functions

Which of the following does not lie on the line given by the equation below? 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To determine if a point lies on a line, plug in the x-value and y-value to see if the equation is satisfied. We can do this for each choice to check. 

For example: 

Since both sides are equivalent, this point does lie on the line. 

We can continue to do this for each of the points until one point does not work out. 

Thus, this point does not lie on the line. Thus, this must be the solution. 

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