Curve C is given in Polar Coordinates by the equation r=2+3sin(theta)

xspook
Messages
19
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



Curve C is given in Polar Coordinates by the equation r=2+3sinθ.
Consider the usual Cartesian plane and take O as the pole and the positive x-axis as the polar axis.

Find points on the curve C where the tangent lines are horizontal or vertical and sketch the curve C.

Homework Equations



x^{2}+y^{2}=r^{2}
x=rcosθ
y=rsinθ
tanθ=\frac{y}{x}


The Attempt at a Solution



PART 1
For some reason I feel like the addition of 2 is throwing me off

r=2+3\frac{y}{r}
r^{2}=2+3y
x^{2}+y^{2}=2+3y
x^{2}+y^{2}-3y=2
x^{2}+y^{2}-3y+(\frac{-3}{2})^{2}=2+(\frac{-3}{2})^{2}
x^{2}+(y-\frac{3}{2})^{2}=\frac{17}{4}??

I don't know where to go from the last line above for the center, maybe (\frac{3}{2},0)??...

PART 2
I know also that I am supposed to take
\frac{∂r}{∂θ} which is 3cosθ

when I take
\frac{∂x}{∂θ} do I take the derivative of x=2+3(\frac{y}{r})(\frac{x}{r})?? And similarly for \frac{∂y}{∂θ}.

Lastly I know I have to take \frac{∂y}{∂x} which I hope I can easily do after I sort out the issue above.

Thank you
 
Physics news on Phys.org
r = 2+3\frac{y}{r} should become r^2 = 2r+3y

You don't need to convert your curve to cartesian coordinates to sketch it though... you can plot them directly by finding the location of a bunch of points and drawing a curve through them

For \frac{\partial x}{\partial \theta} You should use x = r\cos(\theta) and do the product rule
 
What do I end up doing with the 2r now?

All of my examples from class always end up looking like
r^{2}=(some coefficient)(a variable)
we never have a term with r remaining
 
I guess I could divide by 2 and get r by itself

r=(\frac{x}{2})^{2}+(\frac{y}{2})^{2}-\frac{3y}{2}

but I don't know what I would do with that.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
Back
Top