Scribd
Upload
291 views2 pages

Polar Equation

Polar coordinates define a point P on a plane using its distance r from a fixed point O and its angular distance θ from a fixed initial line OX. The polar coordinates of P are written as (r, θ). Cartesian coordinates (x, y) of P can be determined from its polar coordinates using x = r cosθ and y = r sinθ. The distance between two points with polar coordinates (r1, θ1) and (r2, θ2) is given by √(r1^2 + r2^2 - 2r1r2cos(θ2 - θ1)). The polar equation of a straight line is of the form rcos(θ -

Uploaded by

sujit kumar das
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
291 views2 pages

Polar Equation

Polar coordinates define a point P on a plane using its distance r from a fixed point O and its angular distance θ from a fixed initial line OX. The polar coordinates of P are written as (r, θ). Cartesian coordinates (x, y) of P can be determined from its polar coordinates using x = r cosθ and y = r sinθ. The distance between two points with polar coordinates (r1, θ1) and (r2, θ2) is given by √(r1^2 + r2^2 - 2r1r2cos(θ2 - θ1)). The polar equation of a straight line is of the form rcos(θ -

Uploaded by

sujit kumar das
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

POLAR EQUATION

Polar Coordinates: Let O and OX be a fixed point and a fixed line on a given plane. A point P on this plane can
be defined with reference to a fixed point and the fixed line. If r be the distance of P
from O and θ be the angular distance of P from OX, then the polar coordinates of P are
denoted by ( r , θ ) . O and OX are called pole and the initial line respectively. If (x,y) be
the Cartesian coordinates of P w.r.t. OX and OY, then x=r cos θ and y=r sin θ . r is
known as the radius vector and θ is known as vectorial angle of P. Vectorial angle is
generally measured in the anticlockwise direction.

Distance between two points: Let the polar coordinates of A and B be


¿1,θ 1) and (r2,θ
2 ) w.r.t. the pole O and the initial line OX. In Δ OAB , OA =r1, OB=r2 and
∠ AOB=θ 2−θ 1.
Now AB2=OA2+OB2—[Link] AOB

=r12+r22—2r1r2cos ¿ ¿ 2—θ 1) ∴ AB =

√ r +r −2 r
2
1
2
2 r cos (θ2 −θ1)
1 2

Area of the Triangle: Let the polar coordinates of A, B, C be (r 1,θ 1), (r2,θ 2), (r3,θ 3) respectively w.r.t. the pole O
and initial line OX. Then ΔABC = ΔOAB+ ΔOBC− ΔOCA

=
1 1 1
OA .OB sin ∠ AOB+ OB .OC sin ∠ BOC− OC .OA sin ∠COA
2 2 2
1
= ¿
2
1
= ¿
2
N.B.-If the area is zero, the points are collinear.

Polar Equations of a straight line: Let (r , θ) be the coordinates of a point P on the line PN w.r.t. the
pole O and the initial line OX. ON is perpendicular to the line.

Let ON =p and ∠ XON =α . Now ON=OPcos ( θ−α ) . It is the polar equation of the line.

Cor-1. If α=0, p=r cos θ is the equation of the line. It is a straight line perpendicular to OX, the initial
line.

π
Cor-2. If α = , p=r sin θ is the equation of the line. It is parallel to OX.
2
Cor-3. If P=0, cos ( θ−α )=0 ,

π
or, θ−α = ⟹θ is constant.
2
π
Cor-4. If the line passes through (r 1 , θ1) and an angles β with the initial line then β= + α and
2
p=r 1 cos { π2 − ( β−θ )},
1 or p=r 1 sin ( β−θ 1 ) .

Cor-5 The polar equation of two parallel lines are of the form r cos ( θ−α )= p and r cos ( θ−α )= p´. The
polar equation of mutually perpendicular lines are of the form r cos ( θ−α )= p and

(
r cos θ−α −
π
2 )
=p ‘, i.e. r sin ( θ−α ) =p ‘.

You might also like