Polar Coordinates Examples

Graph the point with polar coordinates .

We start by drawing a ray at angle .

Since r is positive, we travel a distance of along this ray and end up at the correct point:

Graph the point with polar coordinates .

Draw a ray at the angle .

Since r = -2, we travel a distance of 2 in the opposite direction:

Given the polar coordinates, determine which quadrant each point is in.

1. Since is in the first quadrant and r is positive, we know the point is in the first quadrant.
2. The angle is in the first quadrant. However, since r is negative we'll be going the opposite direction and end up in the third quadrant.