Question

The Cartesian coordinates of a point in the xy-plane are (x, y) = (8, 15). Find the polar coordinate ϑ in degrees of this point (with respect to the positive x-axis and measured counterclockwise).

Answer 1

Introduction of Polar Coordinates

In mathematics, the polar coordinate system is a two-dimensional coordinate system in which each point on a plane is determined by a distance from a reference point and an angle from a reference direction.

When we think about plotting points in the plane, we usually think of rectangular coordinates (x,y) in the Cartesian coordinate plane. However, there are other ways of writing a coordinate pair and other types of grid systems. Polar coordinates are points labeled (r,θ) and plotted on a polar grid. The polar grid is represented as a series of concentric circles radiating out from the pole, or the origin of the coordinate plane.