The polar coordinate system is a two-dimensional coordinate system in which each point on a plane is determined by a distance from a fixed point (the origin, by default) and an angle from a fixed direction (the positive direction of x-axis, by default).
1Understand the notation. A point having polar coordinates looks like (r, θ). When such a point is connected to the origin with a line segment, the length of that line segment shall be r units and this line segment will make an angle of θ radians from the positive direction of the x-axis.
- Consider plotting a point with polar coordinates (4, π/3).
2Draw a circle having a radius of 4 units keeping the origin as its center.
3Draw a line emanating from the origin, making an angle of π/3 radians (60 degrees) counter-clockwise from the positive direction of the x-axis and intersecting the circle drawn in the last step. A protractor will be helpful in carrying out this step.
4Mark the point where the line drawn in the last step intersects the circle. This is the point having polar coordinates (4, π/3).Ad
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Things You'll Need
- Pencil or pen