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Polar Coordinates



A series of free Trigonometry Lessons.
Converting between Polar and Rectangular Coordinates, Graphing Simple Polar Equations.

An Introduction to Polar Coordinates
Converting between Polar and Rectangular Coordinates
We will often be asked to convert rectangular to polar coordinates, and this conversion will be very important to understand in Calculus. In order to convert rectangular to polar coordinates, we use the distance formula to find the radius, and the inverse tangent function to find the angle. We may also sometimes be asked to convert from polar coordinates to rectangular coordinates.



Graphing Simple Polar Equations Example 1
Graphing Simple Polar Equations Example 2 Rewrite the polar equation in Cartesian form so that we can (hopefully) recognize it as a common graph. In this case, our polar equation simply turns out to be a circle.


Graphing Simple Polar Equations, Example 3


Try the free Mathway calculator and problem solver below to practice various math topics. Try the given examples, or type in your own problem and check your answer with the step-by-step explanations.
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