Precalculus : Pre-Calculus

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Precalculus

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Example Questions

Example Question #31 : Convert Polar Equations To Rectangular Form And Vice Versa

Convert the rectangular equation to polar form.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that  and .

Substitute these values into the equation.

Now, manipulate the equation so that the terms with  are on the same side.

Factor out the .

Divide both sides by .

Example Question #36 : Polar Coordinates

Convert from rectangular form to polar.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that  and .

Substitute those into the equation.

Expand the equation.

Add  to both sides.

Factor out .

Remember that .

Divide both sides by .

Example Question #31 : Convert Polar Equations To Rectangular Form And Vice Versa

Convert the rectangular equation to polar form.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that  and .

Substitute those into the equation.

Expand this equation.

Add  to both sides.

Factor out  on the left side of the equation.

Recall that 

Divide both sides by .

Example Question #31 : Polar Coordinates

Convert the rectangular equation into polar form.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that  and .

Substitute those into the equation.

Expand this equation.

Subtract both sides by .

Factor out the .

At this point, either  or . Let's continue solving the latter equation to get a more meaningful answer.

Add  to both sides.

Divide both sides by  to solve for .

Recall that  and that .

Example Question #31 : Convert Polar Equations To Rectangular Form And Vice Versa

Convert the rectangular equation to polar form:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that 

Substitute that into the equation.

Recall that,

 

Example Question #40 : Polar Coordinates

Convert the rectangular equation to polar form:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that .

Substitute that into the equation.

Now, isolate the  on one side.

Recall that, 

Example Question #31 : Convert Polar Equations To Rectangular Form And Vice Versa

Convert the rectangular equation into polar form.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that 

Substitute that into the equation.

Recall that, 

Example Question #41 : Convert Polar Equations To Rectangular Form And Vice Versa

Convert the rectangular equation into polar form:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Recall that 

Substitute that into the equation.

Recall that, 

Example Question #41 : Polar Coordinates

How could you write the equation in polar coordinates?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To convert from rectangular to polar, use the equivalent forms  and . Substituting these in, we get:

divide both sides by r

divide both sides by to get this equation in terms of r=

Note that we could simplify this a little bit if we wanted to but that wasn't one of the choices.

Example Question #1633 : Pre Calculus

How could you express the rectangular equation in polar form?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To convert from rectangular to polar, we can substitute in and . Our equation now becomes:

square both sides to remove the radical

Now we can see that in terms of r, this is a quadratic. We can solve using the quadratic formula if we subtract everything from the right side and get our equation equal to 0:

Put our coefficents a, b, and c into the quadratic formula:

multiplying yields 1, so this now becomes:

  we can simplify this knowing the trigonometric identity that

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