Space and time
Space: position, distance & displacement
Three numbers locate a point: (x, y, z)
Point P
Where is it?
Position(3, 2, 4)
Signs(+, +, +)
Distance from O5.39
From xy-plane (|z|)4
From yz-plane (|x|)3
From xz-plane (|y|)2
Foot on xy-plane(3, 2, 0)
Walk to the point
Press Step to follow the route from the origin, one axis at a time.
📋 Teacher notes
- •Three numbers locate a point in space: walk x along the X axis, then y parallel to Y, then z parallel to Z. The order does not matter.
- •The axes are right-handed: point the fingers of your right hand along +X, curl them towards +Y, and your thumb points along +Z.
- •A point’s distance from a coordinate plane is the absolute value of the one coordinate that plane does not contain: |z| from the xy-plane, |x| from the yz-plane, |y| from the xz-plane.
- •The distance between two points extends Pythagoras to three terms: d = √(Δx² + Δy² + Δz²). Rotate the view to see the right triangles inside the box.
✏️ Exercises
Curriculum
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