Difference between revisions of "Polar coordinates"
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(Created page. Hopefully others can help add to it as this concept is much more fundamental and therefore useful to students than a lot of the topology articles.) |
(Converted to maths formulae) |
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| − | '''Polar coordinates''' are an alternative way of representing points on the [[coordinate plane]]. Under the standard system, a point is represented as an ordered pair (x, y) of coordinates for distance 'x' along the horizontal axis and distance 'y' along the vertical axis from a fixed point, called the origin. Under the polar coordinate system, a point is represented as an angle <math>\theta</math> from the origin and a distance | + | '''Polar coordinates''' are an alternative way of representing points on the [[coordinate plane]]. Under the standard system, a point is represented as an ordered pair (x, y) of coordinates for distance 'x' along the horizontal axis and distance 'y' along the vertical axis from a fixed point, called the origin. Under the polar coordinate system, a point is represented as an angle <math>\theta</math> from the origin and a distance <math>r</math> extended in that direction. Thus, a point under rectangular coordinates can be transformed to polar coordinates using the following rule: |
| − | :<math> | + | :<math>x = r \cos(\theta)</math> |
| − | x = | + | :<math>y = r \sin(\theta)</math> |
| − | :<math>y = | + | |
| + | [[Category:Mathematics]] | ||
Latest revision as of 19:14, December 14, 2016
Polar coordinates are an alternative way of representing points on the coordinate plane. Under the standard system, a point is represented as an ordered pair (x, y) of coordinates for distance 'x' along the horizontal axis and distance 'y' along the vertical axis from a fixed point, called the origin. Under the polar coordinate system, a point is represented as an angle <math>\theta</math> from the origin and a distance <math>r</math> extended in that direction. Thus, a point under rectangular coordinates can be transformed to polar coordinates using the following rule:
- <math>x = r \cos(\theta)</math>
- <math>y = r \sin(\theta)</math>