How do you convert the polar coordinate ( 4.5541 , 1.2352 ) into cartesian coordinates?
1 Answer
Polar coordinates are in the form
Explanation:
Polar coordinates are stated in the form
Cartesian coordinates, sometimes also called 'rectangular coordinates', are expressed in the form
To convert from one to the other, we use trigonometry. The
Knowing the angle and a side allows us to use the definitions of sine and cosine to find the
In this case,
(Be sure to ensure that your calculator is on the 'radians', not 'degrees' setting when calculating the sine and cosine in this context.)
By similar reasoning:
In this case,
So that you don't have to remember all this discussion every time, you can memorize (but should understand):
Combine these, and the Cartesian coordinates for the point are