Accessibility Note: This document provides an accessible, condensed alternative to an animation introducing two-dimensional and three-dimensional coordinate systems. It presents the essential concepts of position and coordinate values in a simple, text-based format.
This guide focuses on how objects are located and tracked using coordinates that change continuously as objects move.
---A coordinate system is shown with two directions: horizontal x and vertical y.
Positive x is to the right, and positive y is upward.
A square moves through the space while its position is displayed using x and y values.
As the square moves, both coordinates update continuously. Most motion involves changes in both x and y at the same time.
The square becomes a cube as depth is added to the scene.
A third direction, called the z-axis, is introduced. The z direction points outward toward the viewer.
Position is now described using three values: x, y, and z.
The cube moves through space while its x, y, and z values update continuously.
Positive z corresponds to motion toward the viewer, while motion away from the viewer decreases the z value.
All three coordinates can change together as the cube moves through space.
At any moment, the three coordinate values—x, y, and z—define a single position in space.
This is how virtual environments represent and track where objects are located.