The coordinate grid is composed of a horizontal x-axis and a vertical y-axis. The center of the grid, where the x-axis and y-axis meet, is called the origin.

A line segment is a portion of a line with a measurable length. The midpoint of a line segment is the point exactly halfway between the endpoints. The midpoint bisects (cuts in half) the line segment.

A line on the coordinate grid can be defined by a slope-intercept equation: y = mx + b. For a given value of x, the value of y can be determined given the slope (m) and y-intercept (b) of the line. The slope of a line is change in y over change in x, \({\Delta y \over \Delta x}\), and the y-intercept is the y-coordinate where the line crosses the vertical y-axis.

A trapezoid is a quadrilateral with one set of parallel sides. The area of a trapezoid is one-half the sum of the lengths of the parallel sides multiplied by the height. In this diagram, that becomes ½(b + d)(h).

When solving an equation with two variables, replace the variables with the values given and then solve the now variable-free equation. (Remember order of operations, PEMDAS, Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction.)