Math activities with an x-axis

I was thinking of just doing x (the variable) for today, but my husband thought it was too boring.  Someone had stopped by the blog earlier wondering if I did the x-axis today, so I'm changing my boring variable x post to the x-axis post : )

Here is a brief expaination of what the x-axis is from Mathworld.wolfram.com.

My favorite things to do with an x-axis was mapping coordinates and finding their slope.  In 7th grade I took algebra I'd love to shade the different sides of the lines with my collection of highlighters.

Here some activities your kids can do.

• Make a map of a local park on a piece of graph paper or just make up your own map.  Make the x-axis and y-axis and number them.  Plot out trees and major areas of the park (playground, tennis courts, fountain, etc).
• Label the coordinates for them.
• Can you find the slope between two trees or park features?
• What is the distance between the most distant points (hint you may need to make a right angled triangle to figure it out).
• Take a corner of the classroom or standard corner.  Distinguish which one will be the x-axis, y-axis, and z-axis.  
• With a measuring tape, plot out one item in the room such as a desk.  Here are some tips on xyz drawings.  Drawing 3D shapes can be pretty fun.

What do you like doing with an x-axis?