MHB How to Convert Polar to Rectangular Coordinates in Calculus?

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To convert polar coordinates to rectangular coordinates for the equation r = 3 - cos(θ), the relationship r² = x² + y² is essential. The equation can be manipulated to x² + y² = 3r - x, leading to x² + y² = 3√(x² + y²) - x. This results in the equation (x² + x + y²)² = 9(x² + y²), which can be complex to simplify. The discussion highlights the challenges in handling the conversion, emphasizing that intuition can sometimes guide correct answers. Overall, the conversion process can be intricate and requires careful algebraic manipulation.
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$r=3-\cos\left({\theta}\right)$
${r}^{2}=3r-r\cos\left({\theta}\right)$
${x}^{2}+{y}^{2}=3r+x$
How you deal with 3r ?
 
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karush said:
$r=3-\cos\left({\theta}\right)$
${r}^{2}=3r-r\cos\left({\theta}\right)$
${x}^{2}+{y}^{2}=3r+x$
How you deal with 3r ?
You have a slight mistake: [math]x^2 + y^2 = 3r - x[/math]

As always [math]r = \sqrt{x^2 + y^2}[/math].

Continuing:
[math]x^2 + y^2 = 3 \sqrt{x^2 + y^2} - x[/math]

[math]x^2 + x + y^2 = 3 \sqrt{x^2 + y^2}[/math]

[math]\left ( x^2 + x + y^2 \right ) ^2 = 9(x^2 + y^2)[/math]

etc.

Yes, it's ugly.

-Dan
 
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Funny I had that answer and thot it was wrong, quess intuition is always right?
 
I have been insisting to my statistics students that for probabilities, the rule is the number of significant figures is the number of digits past the leading zeros or leading nines. For example to give 4 significant figures for a probability: 0.000001234 and 0.99999991234 are the correct number of decimal places. That way the complementary probability can also be given to the same significant figures ( 0.999998766 and 0.00000008766 respectively). More generally if you have a value that...

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