- ID: 19274
- DATE: 2009-01-07
- TYPE: WORD
- TITLE: Cartesian coordinates
- DESCRIPTION:
[for Rene Descartes], system for representing the relative positions of points in a plane or in space. In a plane, the point P is specified by the pair of numbers (x,y) representing the distances of the point from two intersecting straight lines, referred to as the x-axis and the y-axis. The point of intersection of these axes, which are called the coordinate axes, is known as the origin. In rectangular coordinates, the type most often used, the axes are taken to be perpendicular, with the x-axis horizontal and the y-axis vertical...
(© Columbia University Press)
