The horizontal coordiante (the x- coord) is the abscissa, and
the vertical coordiante (the y- coord) is the ordinate.
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They are coordinates that are plotted on the Cartesian plane.
Why are two numbers necessary to locate points on a coordinate plane?
You do not have 3 coordinates in the Cartesian plane. The Cartesian plane is a plane and is therefore 2 dimensional. In 2 dimensional space you require only 2 coordinates. 3 coordinates are required to locate a point in 3-dimensional space but then it cannot be a Cartesian PLANE.
The x coordinates are horizontal whereas the y coordinates are vertical on the Cartesian plane.
dots on a coordinate plane