POLAR COORDINATES, EQUATIONS AND GRAPHS

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, the student is expected to be able to:
• know the difference and relationship of the rectangular and polar coordinates,
• convert the rectangular coordinates into polar coordinates and vice versa,
• graph polar coordinates.

Polar Coordinates Plane

In a rectangular coordinate system, we were plotting points based on an ordered
pair of (x, y). In the polar coordinate system, the ordered pair will now be (r, θ). The
ordered pair specifies a point’s location based on the value of r and the angle, θ, from
the polar axis.

Cartesian Plane Polar Plane

The value of r can be positive, negative, or zero. The sign of r is very important in
locating the exact position of the point. The absolute value of r, |r|, is the distance
between the point and the pole.
1. If r is positive (r > 0) then the point lies on the terminal side of θ
2. If r is negative (r < 0) then the point lies on the ray opposite of the terminal
side of θ
3. If r is zero (r = 0) then the point lies at the pole regardless of θ
Example 1. Plotting Polar Coordinates
Plot the following polar coordinates.

Solution:
Example 2.
Plot the following polar coordinates.

Solution:

Relationship of Polar Coordinates and Rectangular Coordinates

Since the polar axis coincides with the x-axis and the pole coincides with the
origin, a relationship can be established between the polar coordinates and the
rectangular coordinates for a point.
By forming a right triangle, we can use the definitions of the trigonometric functions to
establish the relationship between the two sets of ordered pairs.

The Pythagorean Theorem can also be used to establish a relationship between x, y,

and r.

Example 3.
2𝜋
Convert (−4, ) into Cartesian coordinates
3

Solution:

So, in Cartesian coordinates this point is (2, −2√3).

Example 4.
Convert (−1, −1) into polar coordinates.
Solution:
Let’s first get r.

Now, let’s get θ.

This is not the correct angle however. This value of θ is in the first quadrant and the
point we’ve been given is in the third quadrant. As noted above we can get the correct
angle by adding p onto this. Therefore, the actual angle is,

5𝜋
So, in polar coordinates the point is (√2, ) . Note as well that we could have used the
4

first θ that we got by using a negative r. In this case the point could also be written in
𝜋
polar coordinates as (−√2, 4 ).

Exercises
1. Convert 2x−5x3=1+xy into polar coordinates. (Ans. 2rcosθ − 5r3cos3θ = 1 +
r2cosθsinθ)
2. Convert r = −8cosθ into Cartesian coordinates. (Ans. x2+y2=−8x)
3. Convert the rectangular equation x2 + y2 = 100 into a polar equation that
expresses r in terms of θ. (Ans. r=10)
4. Convert the polar equation 4rcosθ + rsinθ = 8 into a rectangular equation that
expresses y in terms of x. (Ans. y = 8 – 4x)
DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POLAR COORDINATES

Let OX be the initial line through the pole O of the polar system and (r₁, θ₁) and
(r₂, θ₂) the polar co-ordinates of the points P and Q respectively. Then, OP₁ = r₁, OQ =
r₂, ∠XOP = θ₁ and ∠XOQ = θ₂, Therefore, ∠POQ = θ₂ – θ₁.

From triangle POQ through the cosine law we get,

PQ² = OP² + OQ² – 2(OP)(OQ)(cos∠POQ)

= r₁² + r₂² – 2r₁ r₂ cos(θ₂ - θ₁)

Therefore, 𝑃𝑄 = 𝐷 = √𝑟1 2 + 𝑟2 2 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 cos(𝜃2 − 𝜃1 )

Example 7. Find the distance between the polar points (1,2π) and (2, π).

Solution:

Setting

and plugging these points into the distance formula from the polar coordinate
system, we get
Exercises

1. Find the length of the line-segment joining the points (4, 10°) and (2√3,
40°). (Ans. 2 units)
2. Find the distance between the points P1(4, 15°) and P2(6, 75°). (Ans. 2√7)

POLAR COORDINATE GRAPHS

Circles
Let’s take a look at the equations of circles in polar coordinates.

1. r=a.
This equation is saying that no matter what angle we’ve got the distance from the
origin must be a. If you think about it that is exactly the definition of a circle of
radius aa centered at the origin.

So, this is a circle of radius aa centered at the origin. This is also one of the
reasons why we might want to work in polar coordinates. The equation of a circle
centered at the origin has a very nice equation, unlike the corresponding
equation in Cartesian coordinates.

2. r=2acosθ.
We looked at a specific example of one of these when we were converting
equations to Cartesian coordinates.
 This is a circle of radius |a| and center (a,0). Note that aa might be negative (as it
was in our example above) and so the absolute value bars are required on the
radius. They should not be used however on the center.

3. r=2bsinθ.
This is similar to the previous one. It is a circle of radius |b| and center (0, b).

4. r=2acosθ+2bsinθ.
This is a combination of the previous two and by completing the square twice it
can be shown that this is a circle of radius √𝑎2 + 𝑏2 and center (a, b). In other
words, this is the general equation of a circle that isn’t centered at the origin.

Example 5. Graph r = 7, r= 4cosθ, and r = −7sinθ on the same axis system.

Solution:
The first one is a circle of radius 7 centered at the origin. The second is a circle
7
of radius 2 centered at (2,0). The third is a circle of radius centered at (0,
2
7
− 2). Here is the graph of the three equations.
Cardioids and Limacons
These can be broken up into the following three cases.

1. Cardioids: r = a ± acosθ and r= a ± asinθ.

These have a graph that is vaguely heart shaped and always contain the origin.

2. Limacons with an inner loop: r = a ± bcosθ and r = a ± bsinθ with a<b.

These will have an inner loop and will always contain the origin.

3. Limacons without an inner loop: r= a ± bcosθ and r=a ± bsinθ with a>b.
These do not have an inner loop and do not contain the origin.

Example 6. Graph r = 5 − 5sinθ, r = 7 − 6cosθ, and r = 2 + 4cosθ.

Solution:
These will all graph out once in the range 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π. Here is a table of values for
each followed by graphs of each.
Exercises
Sketch the following polar equations:
1. 𝑟 = −14𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
6
2. 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃 =
𝑟

3. 𝑟 = 8 + 8𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃
4. 𝑟 = 5 − 2𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
5. 𝑟 = 3𝑐𝑜𝑠 2𝜃
6. 𝑟 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛 4𝜃
7. 𝑟 = 3𝑠𝑖𝑛 7𝜃
8. 𝑟 = −1 + 2𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃

Answer:

1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.