Polar Curves and Cartesian Graphs

To sketch the graph of a polar equation a good first step is to sketch the graph in the Cartesian coordinate system. This will give a way to visualize how r changes with θ.

The information about how r changes with θ can then be used to sketch the graph of the equation in the polar coordinate system.

Drag the slider labeled "Move Me" to change the value of θ and watch the curve be drawn.

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You can change the polar equation here. (Use x instead of θ in the input. This is a bug that needs to be fixed.)

r =  

Jamie Mulholland
Department of Mathematics
Simon Fraser University
Created with GeoGebra