Polar and Rectangular Coordinates
- Author:
- rileyadamdavis
- Topic:
- Coordinates
Below we have a dynamic applet showing both the Polar, and the Rectangular coordinates of point A. You can toggle the Polar and Rectangular coordinates on and off using the checkboxes to the left.
A few points to consider:
1) Why are the polar coordinates always positive, while the rectangular coordinates can be both positive and negative?
2) How is r (found in the polar coordinates), related to the rectangular coordinates?
3) When might it be useful to use polar coordinates instead of rectangular? Why?