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6th grade · Math · Unit 15 of 17

Four Quadrants

Points with negative coordinates

What your child practices

Plotting and naming points in all four quadrants, reflecting points across an axis, and finding distances and areas on the coordinate plane.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 6.11; 6.25 · graphing points in all four quadrants and finding side lengths of polygons on the coordinate plane

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Left of 0 is negative x. Below 0 is negative y.
  2. Quadrant I is (+, +), II is (−, +), III is (−, −), IV is (+, −).
  3. Across an axis, one coordinate changes sign.

Example: How far apart are (−3, 2) and (5, 2)? Same y, so count across. 3 to get to 0, then 5 more: 3 + 5. Answer: 8 units

Four Quadrants in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 15 of 17 in 6th grade Math, after Center & Spread and before Unit Rates.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    How far apart are (−7, 6) and (6, 6)?

    • 1
    • 12
    • 13
    • 15

  2. Question 2

    What are the coordinates of point P?

    -6-6-5-5-4-4-3-3-2-2-1-100112233445566P
    • (2, −2)
    • (−2, 2)
    • (−2, −2)

  3. Question 3

    A rectangle has corners (−6, −1), (6, −1), (6, 5) and (−6, 5). What is its area?

    • 71 square units
    • 84 square units
    • 72 square units
    • 74 square units
    • 36 square units

  4. Question 4

    Which quadrant is the point (3, −5) in?

    • Quadrant IV
    • Quadrant II
    • Quadrant I
    • Quadrant III

  5. Question 5

    The point (−4, −7) is reflected across the y-axis. Where does it land?

    • (−7, −4)
    • (4, 7)
    • (−4, 7)
    • (4, −7)

  6. Question 6

    Which quadrant is the point (−8, −2) in?

    • Quadrant IV
    • Quadrant I
    • Quadrant II
    • Quadrant III

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