Saturday, January 2, 2010

Abscissa


the term given to the horizontal or x-co-ordinate when describing the position of a point on a graph. It is the distance of the point from the vertical or y-axis. For example, a point two units along the x-axis and three units up the y-axis is said to have CARTESIAN CO-ORDINATES (2,3) where the abscissa is 2.

Taken from Dictionary of Science

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In mathematics, abscissa (plural abscissae) refers to the first element of an ordered pair.


It is the first of the two terms (x, y) by which a point is referred to, in a system of fixed rectilinear coordinate (Cartesian coordinate) axes. The abscissa is also known as the "x" coordinate of a point. The second coordinate, or "y" coordinate, is called the ordinate.


Taken from Wikipedia

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