Calculus › Section K · Conics, parametric equations, and polar coordinates › Topic K.4
Polar coordinates and polar graphs
Some curves fight the rectangular grid: wheels, petals and spirals turn into algebra tangles in x and y but into one clean line in polar coordinates, where a point is located by distance and angle instead of two offsets.
In this topic
- Locating points by distance and angle
- One point, many coordinate pairs
- Converting between the systems
- Worked example: converting an equation
- Sketching by plotting points
- Families of special graphs
- Slope of a tangent line
- Worked example: slope of a polar curve
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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Standards: 9 (BC)