L3 · Reading Coordinates; Describing Locations

Learning goal

“I can read the coordinates of a point on a map, I can describe one point's location in relation to another using positional language (left, right, up, down) with unit counts, and I can find a new point described in relation to a known one.”

Positional language — the words left, right, up and down, used with unit counts to describe where a point is compared with another point.

Units apart — the distance between two points counted in grid units, measured across or up/down (never diagonally in this unit).

Directly above — in the same column: two points are directly above/below each other when their first numbers are equal.

Directly beside — in the same row: two points are directly beside each other when their second numbers are equal.

Worked example

Read the fountain's coordinates from the park map (Entrance (1, 1), Pond (2, 4), Fountain (4, 6), Swings (7, 2), Picnic tables (7, 6)), then work backwards from a pair to a landmark. Step 1: The fountain sits 4 units from the vertical axis and 6 units from the horizontal axis. Vertical-axis distance first: the fountain is at (4, 6). Step 2: Backwards: which landmark is at (7, 2)? First number 7 - find the column 7 units from the vertical axis. Second number 2 - climb 2. That is the swings. Step 3: Notice the picnic tables at (7, 6): same first number as the swings, so the tables are in the same column - directly above the swings, higher up. Say it plainly: reading a map runs the L2 walk in reverse. Distances -> pair, pair -> distances, either direction, same fixed order.

Check yourself — explain it

To find which landmark is at (7, 2), you first use the 7 to…

Paired problem — example still visible

Write the coordinates of the pond, using the park map (Entrance (1, 1), Pond (2, 4), Fountain (4, 6), Swings (7, 2), Picnic tables (7, 6)). -> (2, 4) (2 from the vertical axis, 4 from the horizontal axis).

Faded completion — last step is yours

"The entrance is 1 unit from the vertical axis and 1 unit from the horizontal axis: ( ___, ___ )" -> (1, 1)

Ready to practise?

10 scored questions with a 3-rung hint ladder. Mastery needs 8/10 plus both gate questions.

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