In Maths, axis is single and axes is plural

Hi Zoe, The relationship between "axis" and "axes" depends on the context. An "axis" can be an imaginary line which an object rotates around. Example: The tilt of the Earth's axis gives us our predictable seasons. When we draw graphs to represent our experimental data, we need two "axes" -- a vertical "axis" and a horizontal "axis". Usually, the horizontal "axis" depicts the independent variable while the vertical "axis" represents the dependent variable. In this context, "axes" is the plural noun form of "axis". When we want to chop some firewood, we use an "axe" -- a tool with a sharp blade to fell a tree. A group of lumberjacks can gather to fell many trees with their "axes", which is the plural noun form of "axe". Just as a side discussion, an "axis" can also refer to an alliance among some countries. Example: "An axis of evil " Hope this helps. Cheers, Lance

People often get confused over the terms axis and axes. They look and sound similar and therefore, at many times people use them interchangeably. The usage of one in place of the other will make a difference in a sentence. The differences of both the terms are simple enough. Axis is a singular term, whereas, axes is a plural of axis. It does not have any other meaning; and whether it is to be used as an axis or axes, it depends on the context. For example: One axis defines one rotation. But, one can give an object more than one rotation, and they can have different axes.

the first is the singular and the second the plural also axes can be used to chop wood

The word "axes" is a plural form, in this case of two different singular words, "ax"and "axis".