Coordinates systems are often used to specify the position of a point, but they may also be used to specify the position of more complex figures such as lines, planes, circles or spheres. For example, Plücker coordinates are used to determine the position of a line in space.

What are coordinates and why are they useful?

Coordinates are numbers which determine the position of a point or a shape in a particular space (a map or a graph). In primary school children are taught Cartesian coordinates, which they are introduced to in Year 4.

How do coordinates help us?

Latitude and longitude form our coordinate system grid. Also, you can express coordinates in different ways. For example, you can use decimal degrees or degrees-minutes-seconds. Thanks to our geographic coordinate, you can pinpoint any point on Earth such as GPS receivers.