October 6, 2009
No CommentsPlotting Points in the Polar Coordinate System
Description
A detailed tutorial on plotting points in the polar coordinate system. Step by step tutorial including several examples of how to plot points on the polar coordinate system for reference.
Overview
By this point, everyone should know how to plot points on a normal graph. But what about a circular graph? This circular graph is called the polar coordinate system or the polar plane. Instead of using the points (x, y), the polar coordinate system uses the points (r, theta). Theta is a greek letter that looks like a zero with a horizontal line drawn through the center. Most of the points you will be finding for the polar coordinate system will be used with trigonometric functions – sine, cosine, and tangent. Graphing occurs in about the same way as it would on a normal graph – just match up the points, even if they are on a circle.
