Rectangular and polar

Rectangular and polar

A point can be described in two ways. In rectangular coordinates, $P(x,\ y)$: x\displaystyle x across and y\displaystyle y up. In polar coordinates, $P(r,\ \theta)$: a distance r\displaystyle r from the origin and an angle θ\displaystyle \theta. To go from rectangular to polar, $r=\sqrt{x^{2}+y^{2}}$, and θ\displaystyle \theta is the inverse tangent of y/x\displaystyle y/x. To go back, $x=r\cos\theta$, and y=rsin⁡θ\displaystyle y = r\sin\theta. The calculator does both conversions and also stores the results: r\displaystyle r or x\displaystyle x in memory X, and θ\displaystyle \theta or y\displaystyle y in memory Y.

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