The polar angle of a point with respect to another

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SUMMARY

The polar angle of a point p_0 with respect to another point p_1 can be calculated using the cross product method. Specifically, the polar angle is determined by the vector difference p_1 - p_0, which in the example of points (3,3) and (2,4) results in a vector of (1,-1) corresponding to an angle of 315 degrees or \(\frac{7 \pi}{4}\) radians. The cross product is defined as the magnitude of the product of the distances between the two points and the sine of the angle between them, expressed in the formula p_0 × p_1 = |p_0||p_1|sin(θ). This method effectively computes the angle, but attention must be paid to negative angles obtained during calculations.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of vector operations, specifically cross product
  • Familiarity with polar coordinates and angles
  • Knowledge of trigonometric functions, particularly arcsin
  • Basic geometry involving points in a Cartesian plane
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  • Research the properties and applications of cross products in vector mathematics
  • Learn how to convert between polar and Cartesian coordinates
  • Explore the use of trigonometric functions in angle calculations
  • Study the handling of negative angles in trigonometry and their implications
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twoflower
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Hi all,

could you please tell me how to count polar angle of a point with respect to another one using cross product?

I know that polar angle of a point p_0 with respect to point p_1 is the angle of vector p_1 - p_0.

For example, polar angle of (3,3) with respect to (2,4) is the angle of (1,-1) which is 315 degrees or \frac{7 \pi}{4} radians.

How to count it using cross product?

Thank you.
 
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The crossproduct may be alternately defined as the magnitude of the product of the distances between the two points and the origin and the sine of the angle between the two points.

(in formula, p_0 \times p_1 = |p_o||p_1|sin(\theta))
 
vsage said:
The crossproduct may be alternately defined as the magnitude of the product of the distances between the two points and the origin and the sine of the angle between the two points.
(in formula, p_0 \times p_1 = |p_o||p_1|sin(\theta))

Thank you. So, if one of those vector will be that mine p_1 - p_0 and the second one in the formula will be (1,0), will be ok to compute the angle from it? (using arcsin function).

Now I tried it on two examples and it works well, I just have to take care of negative angles I get from it.
 

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