Identify Quadrants and Axes

1) Know the four quadrants

The coordinate plane is split by the x-axis and y-axis into four regions called quadrants. They are numbered counterclockwise:

• Quadrant I: x > 0, y > 0
• Quadrant II: x < 0, y > 0
• Quadrant III: x < 0, y < 0
• Quadrant IV: x > 0, y < 0

2) Check whether the point lies on an axis

A point is not in a quadrant if one coordinate is zero:

• If y = 0, the point is on the x-axis.
• If x = 0, the point is on the y-axis.
• If x = 0 and y = 0, the point is the origin.

3) Use the signs to identify the location

For each point, look at the sign of x first, then y:

• positive/positive → Quadrant I
• negative/positive → Quadrant II
• negative/negative → Quadrant III
• positive/negative → Quadrant IV

4) How to check your answer

Read the point carefully and confirm the signs. If one coordinate is 0, choose an axis instead of a quadrant. If both are nonzero, match the sign pattern to the correct quadrant.

5) Final simplification

When the answer asks for the location, give only the quadrant, axis, or origin as appropriate.