Locate Points Game
The astronaut is you. You need to get to the space ship. Read the coordinates of the ship, then fly to that point on the coordinate plane before the aliens catch you.
In this game, you will
- Locate points such as (−3, 4) on a coordinate plane from −10 to 10.
- Read coordinates carefully: the bombs look exactly like the space ship.
- Get through 10 levels with more bombs and faster aliens.
Interactive Game: Fly to the Space Ship
Fly with the arrow keys or W, A, S, D. On a phone or tablet, use the arrow buttons under the game.
How to Play
The astronaut is you. You need to get to the space ship. You will see the point that you need to locate on the coordinate system in the upper left of the screen.
The point you see in the upper left of the screen tells you where your space ship is located.
There is a surprise waiting for you if you don't answer correctly or if you let the aliens get into contact with you.
How to Locate a Point on the Coordinate Plane
A point is written as an ordered pair (x, y). The first number, x, tells you how far to move left or right. The second number, y, tells you how far to move up or down. The origin is the point (0, 0).
Start at the origin. If x is positive, move right; if x is negative, move left. Then, if y is positive, move up; if y is negative, move down.
- Start at the origin (0, 0).
- x = 4 is positive, so move 4 units right.
- y = −2 is negative, so move 2 units down.
The point (4, −2) is 4 units right and 2 units down from the origin.
Swapping x and y. The points (2, 5) and (5, 2) are different points: (2, 5) is 2 right and 5 up, while (5, 2) is 5 right and 2 up. The x-coordinate always comes first.
Start at the origin, move 5 units left and 1 unit down. Which point are you at?
Show answer
(−5, −1). Left means a negative x-coordinate and down means a negative y-coordinate.