Polar points in rectangular coordinates help

In summary, the conversation is about a student who needs help understanding polar coordinates for an upcoming exam. They ask for guidance and are given equations relating polar and rectangular coordinates. They then use these equations to solve a problem and confirm their answer using a triangle method.
  • #1
lakitu
27
0
My teacher has told me I will need to be able to do these in my up and comping exam later this month. He covered the topic a while ago but I didn't quite understand. Here is an example I have.

Express the polar point (6, 120 °) in rectangular coordinates.

I have no idea how to start doing these? Guidence of any kind would be wonderful.

Regards Lakitu
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Surely you know the relation between cartesian coordinates and polar coordinates? It is two very simple equations that express x and y in r and [itex]\theta[/itex].
 
  • #3
Sorry to dissapoint, I have no idea how to do these

Lakitu
 
  • #4
lakitu said:
Sorry to dissapoint, I have no idea how to do these

Lakitu

I fail to see how your teacher would expect you to be able to do this problem if (s)he didn't give you the above mentioned equations. Look in your book or notes under "polar coordinates."

-Dan
 
  • #5
lakitu said:
My teacher has told me I will need to be able to do these in my up and comping exam later this month. He covered the topic a while ago but I didn't quite understand. Here is an example I have.

Express the polar point (6, 120 °) in rectangular coordinates.

I have no idea how to start doing these? Guidence of any kind would be wonderful.

Regards Lakitu
You may want to give this page a glance: Polar coordinate.
The relation between Rectangular coordinate, and Polar coordinate is:
[tex]\begin{array}{l} x = r \cos \theta \\ y = r \sin \theta \end{array}[/tex]
Now what's r, and what's [tex]\theta[/tex]? From there, can you find x, y?
Can you go from here? :)
 
  • #6
Thank you for your help VietDao. Big Help. ok i have come up with the answers x = -3 and y = 5.196. I have drawn a triangle also and this seems to be the same.

Thanks again
 
  • #7
lakitu said:
Thank you for your help VietDao. Big Help. ok i have come up with the answers x = -3 and y = 5.196. I have drawn a triangle also and this seems to be the same.

Thanks again
Yes, it looks good. However, I'd prefer the y to be:
[tex]y = 3 \sqrt{3}[/tex] instead of an approximation. Other than that, everything seems correct. :)
 

What are polar points in rectangular coordinates?

Polar points in rectangular coordinates are a way of representing points in a 2-dimensional coordinate system using both polar coordinates (distance from the origin and angle) and rectangular coordinates (x and y coordinates).

Why are polar points important?

Polar points are important because they allow us to easily convert between different coordinate systems and visualize points in a 2-dimensional space. They are also commonly used in fields such as physics and engineering.

How do you convert polar points to rectangular coordinates?

To convert polar points to rectangular coordinates, you can use the following formulas:x = r * cos(theta)y = r * sin(theta)Where r is the distance from the origin and theta is the angle in radians.

What is the difference between polar points and rectangular points?

The main difference between polar points and rectangular points is the way they represent points in a 2-dimensional space. Polar points use distance and angle, while rectangular points use x and y coordinates. Both systems have their own advantages and are used in different applications.

How do you plot polar points in a rectangular coordinate system?

To plot polar points in a rectangular coordinate system, you can first convert them to rectangular coordinates using the formulas mentioned above. Then, you can plot the points on a graph by plotting the x and y coordinates as you would with any other rectangular points.

Similar threads

B: Calculate the distance between two points without using a coordinate system
    • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
20
Views
2K
Help describing a region in polar coordinates
    • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
8
Views
3K
Converting rectangular to polar
    • Precalculus Mathematics Homework Help
Replies
5
Views
3K
MATLAB Matlab polar to rectangular coordinates
    • MATLAB, Maple, Mathematica, LaTeX
Replies
1
Views
2K
B Reprise: Calculate the distance between two points without using a coordinate system
    • General Math
Replies
1
Views
229
I Two Dimensional Coordinate Plane with Distance as Third Dimension
    • General Math
Replies
3
Views
1K
B Invariant under rotation: Banal, obvious, or noteworthy?
    • General Math
Replies
2
Views
1K
MHB Give all the polar coordinates corresponding the rectangular point
    • Calculus
Replies
8
Views
2K
How to Convert Rectangular Integrals to Polar Coordinates Correctly?
    • Calculus and Beyond Homework Help
Replies
4
Views
1K
A Solving Laplace's equation in polar coordinates for specific boundary conditions
    • Differential Equations
Replies
3
Views
2K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top