A point shows an exact position or location on a plane surface. It is important to understand that a point is not a thing, but a place. We draw a point by placing a dot with a pencil. This dot may have a diameter of 0.2mm, but a point has no size. No matter how far you zoomed in, it would still have no width.

Points are usually named by using an upper-case single letter. In the figure above, the points P,Q and R are shown. In this web site, points are shown either as a black dot, or as a somewhat larger orange halo. This indicates the point can be dragged with a mouse.

Dragging hints

1. Move the mouse over a point with an orange halo until a + or a hand symbol appears.
2. Press and hold the mouse button.
3. With the button down, move the mouse. The point will move.
4. Release the mouse button.

Coordinate Geometry

In another branch of mathematics called coordinate geometry, points are located on the plane using their coordinates - two numbers that show where the point is positioned.
For more on this, see

• Introduction to Coordinate Geometry,
• Coordinates of a point

Related point topics

• point
• plane
• collinear points
• equidistant points
• intersection
• vertex
• midpoint
• locus