# How to Graph Triangles and Quadrilaterals?

You can easily draw triangles and quadrilaterals on the coordinate plane. Join us in this post to learn how to graph triangles and quadrilaterals.

## Step by Step guide to graphing triangles and quadrilaterals

It is better to get familiar with triangles and quadrilaterals before graphing them:

### What is a triangle?

A triangle is a simple polygon with $$3$$ sides and $$3$$ interior angles. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry in which $$3$$ vertices are connected and denoted by a symbol $$△$$. Observe the triangle $$PQR$$ given below which shows the sides, the vertices, and the interior angles of a triangle.

A quadrilateral is a polygon with four sides, four angles, and four vertices. Whenever we name a quadrilateral, we must consider the order of the vertices. For example, the following quadrilateral should be named $$ABCD$$, $$BCDA$$, $$ADCB$$, or, $$DCBA$$. It cannot be named $$ACBD$$ or $$DBAC$$, since they change the order of the vertices in which a quadrilateral is formed. The following quadrilateral $$ABCD$$ has four sides: $$AB, BC, CD, DA$$, and two diagonals: $$AC$$ and $$BD$$.

### How to graph triangles and quadrilaterals?

The following steps will be useful to graph triangles and quadrilaterals on the coordinate plane:

1. Mark the given points on the graph sheet one by one.

• $$(x, y) \rightarrow$$  Choose the first quadrant
• $$(-x, y) \rightarrow$$ Choose the second quadrant
• $$(-x, -y)\rightarrow$$ Choose the third quadrant
• $$(x, -y) \rightarrow$$ Choose the fourth quadrant

2. Join the marked points.

3. Name the vertices.

### Graphing Triangles and Quadrilaterals– Example 1:

Graph the triangle with vertices $$(2, -3)$$, $$(-6, -7)$$ and $$(-8, -3)$$.

Solution:

$$(2, -3)\rightarrow (x, -y)\rightarrow$$ lies in the fourth quadrant

$$(-6, -7)\rightarrow (-x, -y) \rightarrow$$ lies in the third quadrant

$$(-8, -3) \rightarrow (-x, -y)\rightarrow$$ lies in the third quadrant

By plotting the given points, we got above triangle $$ABC$$.

## Exercises for GraphingTriangles and Quadrilaterals

### Graph following shapes.

• $$\color{blue}{(8, 3), (0, -1), (-2, 3), (6, 7)}$$
• $$\color{blue}{(-7, -5), (-4, 3), (5, 6), (2, –2)}$$
• $$\color{blue}{(8, 3), (0, -1), (-2, 3), (6, 7)}$$
• $$\color{blue}{(-7, -5), (-4, 3), (5, 6), (2, –2)}$$