This is a coordinate plane. It has two axes and four quadrants. The two number lines form the axes. The horizontal number line is called the x-axis and the vertical number line is called the y-axis.

The center of the coordinate plane is called the origin. It has the coordinates of (0,0).

Locations of points on the plane can be plotted when one coordinate from each of the axes are used. This set of x and y values are called ordered pairs.

René Descartes (1596-1650)

The French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist Rene Descartes, was one of the most important and influential thinkers in history. Descartes founded analytic geometry and originated the Cartesian coordinates and Cartesian curves. The coordinate plane is often called the Cartesian plane.