Which statement best describes an ordered pair (x, y)?

• A. The order of coordinates matters
• B. The order of coordinates does not matter
• C. It contains two identical numbers
• D. It describes a single value

Answer: (A)

An ordered pair is defined by its first element and its second element, kept in that fixed order. That means the position of each value matters. Swapping them usually gives a different pair, for example (x, y) versus (y, x) are only the same if x equals y. It’s not just two identical numbers, and it’s not a single value. So the statement that the order of coordinates matters best describes what an ordered pair is.