Orienting Yourself: The Use of Coordinates — CBSE Class 9 Maths Important Questions
13 CBSE Class 9 Maths practice questions on Orienting Yourself: The Use of Coordinates, each with a full model answer, covering 5 topics from the chapter in the question formats used in the exam.
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Reviewed by Classmate AI Team · 18 October 2026
Last updated 25 October 2026
- 13
- Questions
- 5
- Topics
- 4
- Key concepts
- ₹0
- With answers
Coordinate Geometry questions ask you to name the quadrant or axis of a point, plot and read points on the Cartesian plane, find the distance between two points with √((x₂-x₁)²+(y₂-y₁)²), find the midpoint ((x₁+x₂)/2,(y₁+y₂)/2), and test whether three points lie on a straight line.
About Orienting Yourself: The Use of Coordinates
This chapter introduces the Cartesian coordinate system — two perpendicular number lines (the x-axis and y-axis) meeting at the origin. Every point in the plane is fixed by an ordered pair (x,y), where the abscissa x measures horizontal distance and the ordinate y measures vertical distance. You learn to plot points, identify quadrants, and describe positions using signs of the coordinates.
Key concepts & formulas
Two number lines, the horizontal x-axis and the vertical y-axis, intersect at right angles at the origin O(0,0), dividing the plane into four quadrants.
A point is written (x,y): the abscissa x comes first (horizontal), the ordinate y second (vertical). Order matters — (3,5)≠(5,3).
Quadrant I: (+,+); II: (-,+); III: (-,-); IV: (+,-). On the x-axis y=0; on the y-axis x=0.
Distance between (x₁,y₁) and (x₂,y₂) is √((x₂-x₁)²+(y₂-y₁)²); their midpoint is ((x₁+x₂)/2,(y₁+y₂)/2). Three points are collinear when the two shorter distances add up to the longest.
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Important questions with answers
Try each on paper first, then reveal the model answer to check your method.
Multiple-choice questions (1 mark)
The point (-4, 7) lies in which quadrant?
- (a)
Quadrant I
- (b)
Quadrant II
- (c)
Quadrant III
- (d)
Quadrant IV
Show model answer
Answer: (b) Quadrant II.
Here the abscissa is negative (-4) and the ordinate is positive (+7). The sign pattern (-,+) corresponds to the second quadrant.
The abscissa of every point lying on the y-axis is:
- (a)
1
- (b)
0
- (c)
equal to its ordinate
- (d)
any non-zero number
Show model answer
Answer: (b) 0.
A point on the y-axis has no horizontal displacement from the origin, so its x-coordinate (abscissa) is 0. Such a point is of the form (0, y).
If the point P(a, b) lies in the fourth quadrant, then:
- (a)
a>0, b>0
- (b)
a<0, b>0
- (c)
a>0, b<0
- (d)
a<0, b<0
Show model answer
Answer: (c) a>0, b<0.
In the fourth quadrant the abscissa is positive and the ordinate is negative, giving the sign pattern (+,-).
The midpoint of the line segment joining A(2,-4) and B(6,8) is:
- (a)
(4,2)
- (b)
(8,4)
- (c)
(2,6)
- (d)
(4,6)
Show model answer
Answer: (a) (4,2). Midpoint =((x₁+x₂)/2,(y₁+y₂)/2)=((2+6)/2,(-4+8)/2)=(4,2).
Assertion–Reason questions (1 mark)
Assertion (A): The point (0, -6) lies on the y-axis.
Reason (R): A point lies on the y-axis when its abscissa is 0.
- (a)
Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
- (b)
Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A
- (c)
A is true but R is false
- (d)
A is false but R is true
Show model answer
Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. The point (0,-6) has abscissa 0, which is exactly the condition for a point to lie on the y-axis.
Very short answer questions (2 marks)
Write the coordinates of a point which is 5 units to the right of the origin on the x-axis, and a point which is 3 units below the origin on the y-axis.
Show model answer
A point 5 units to the right of the origin on the x-axis has ordinate 0, so it is (5, 0).
A point 3 units below the origin on the y-axis has abscissa 0 and a negative ordinate, so it is (0, -3).
In which quadrant or on which axis do each of the following points lie: A(2, 3), B(-1, -4), C(6, 0), D(-3, 8)?
Show model answer
A(2,3): both coordinates positive (+,+) — Quadrant I.
B(-1,-4): both negative (-,-) — Quadrant III.
C(6,0): ordinate 0 — on the x-axis.
D(-3,8): signs (-,+) — Quadrant II.
Short answer questions (3 marks)
Plot the points A(2, 3), B(-2, 3), C(-2, -3) and D(2, -3) on a Cartesian plane and name the figure formed by joining them in order.
Show model answer
The four points are one in each quadrant, symmetric about both axes.
Joining A→ B→ C→ D→ A gives a rectangle (width 4 units along x, height 6 units along y). Since the sides are unequal it is a rectangle, not a square.
Find the distance between A(1,2) and B(4,6). Hence show that A, B and C(7,10) lie on a straight line.
Show model answer
Distance formula: AB=√((x₂-x₁)²+(y₂-y₁)²).
AB=√((4-1)²+(6-2)²)=√(9+16)=5, BC=√((7-4)²+(10-6)²)=5, AC=√((7-1)²+(10-2)²)=√100=10.
Since AB+BC=5+5=10=AC, the three points lie on a straight line (B is in fact the midpoint of AC).
The points P(3, 2), Q(3, 5) and R(3, -1) are plotted on a plane. What do you observe about the line joining them? Also find the length QR.
Show model answer
All three points have the same abscissa x=3, so they lie on a vertical line parallel to the y-axis, 3 units to the right of it.
Since the points are collinear on a vertical line, the distance between two of them equals the difference of their ordinates.
QR = |5 - (-1)| = |5 + 1| = 6 units.
Long answer questions (5 marks)
On a single Cartesian plane, plot the points A(0, 0), B(4, 0), C(4, 3) and D(0, 3). Join them in order and identify the figure. Find its perimeter and area (each grid unit = 1 cm).
Show model answer
Plotting: A at the origin, B on the positive x-axis, D on the positive y-axis, and C in Quadrant I.
AB is horizontal of length 4 cm; BC is vertical of length 3 cm; CD=4 cm and DA=3 cm. Opposite sides are equal and all angles are right angles, so ABCD is a rectangle.
Perimeter = 2(l+b) = 2(4+3) = 14 cm.
Area = l× b = 4× 3 = 12 cm².
Three vertices of a square PQRS are P(-2, -2), Q(3, -2) and R(3, 3). Find the coordinates of the fourth vertex S, and hence the side length and area of the square.
Show model answer
Plot the given points. PQ is horizontal (y=-2) with length |3-(-2)| = 5 units. QR is vertical (x=3) with length |3-(-2)| = 5 units. So the side of the square is 5 units.
For PQRS taken in order, S must be directly above P and directly left of R. Thus S has the abscissa of P and the ordinate of R:
S = (-2, 3).
Check: RS = |3-(-2)| = 5 and SP = |3-(-2)| = 5 units, confirming all four sides equal.
Side = 5 units, so Area = 5² = 25 square units.
Case-based questions (4 marks)
A city map is drawn on a coordinate grid where each unit represents 1 km. The School is at S(2, 4), the Library at L(2, -3), the Park at P(-5, 4) and the Hospital at H(0, 0), which is the city centre (origin).
(i) In which quadrant does the Park lie?
(ii) Which two places lie on a vertical line (same abscissa)?
(iii) Find the straight-line distance, in km, from the Hospital to the School.
(iv) Which place is located at the origin?
Show model answer
(i) The Park P(-5, 4) has signs (-,+), so it lies in Quadrant II.
(ii) The School S(2, 4) and the Library L(2, -3) have the same abscissa x=2, so they lie on a vertical line parallel to the y-axis.
(iii) By the distance formula, HS=√((2-0)²+(4-0)²)=√20=2√5≈4.47 km. (iv) The Hospital H(0, 0) is located at the origin (the city centre).
All CBSE Class 9 Maths Chapters
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Frequently asked questions
What questions come from Orienting Yourself: The Use of Coordinates in Class 9?
Naming the quadrant or axis of a point, plotting points and naming the figure they form, the distance and midpoint formulas, and testing whether three points are collinear. This page has 13 such questions with answers, including a square with one missing vertex and a city-map case study.How do you tell which quadrant a point lies in?
Look at the signs: Quadrant I is (+,+), II is (-,+), III is (-,-) and IV is (+,-). So (-4,7) lies in Quadrant II. A point with y=0 lies on the x-axis and one with x=0 on the y-axis, so it is in no quadrant.What are the abscissa and ordinate of a point?
In (x,y) the abscissa is x, the horizontal distance from the y-axis, and the ordinate is y, the vertical distance from the x-axis. Order matters: (3,5) and (5,3) are different points. Every point on the y-axis has abscissa 0.How do you show three points lie on a straight line using distances?
Find all three distances; the points are collinear when the two shorter ones add up to the longest. For A(1,2), B(4,6) and C(7,10): AB=5, BC=5 and AC=10, and 5+5=10, so they lie on one line.Which chapter comes after Orienting Yourself in the new CBSE Class 9 Maths book?
Introduction to Linear Polynomials (Chapter 2) follows The Use of Coordinates (Chapter 1) in Ganita Manjari, and graphs of linear polynomials use the plotting skills from Chapter 1. Open the next chapter's important questions from the Class 9 Maths list on this site.Is coordinate geometry in Class 9 the base for Class 10?
Yes. The distance and midpoint formulas you meet here return in Class 10 Coordinate Geometry with the section formula, and plotting skills are needed for graphs of polynomials and linear equations. Getting signs right in each quadrant now saves marks later.Can I download Class 9 coordinates questions with answers?
Yes. Put your email into the free PDF box on this page and all 13 coordinate questions open as a printable worksheet with worked answers; save it as a PDF from the print dialog.
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