Calculus 2

Lia Vas

Polar Coordinates
If P = (x, y) is a point in the xy-plane and O denotes the origin, let
• r denote the distance from the origin O to the point P = (x, y). Thus, x2 + y 2 = r2 ;
−→
• θ be the angle between the vector OP and the positive part of x-axis. Thus, tan θ = xy .
This gives a new way to represent a point
(x, y). If the point is represented by (θ, r) instead
of (x, y), we say it is given in polar coordinates.
Note that cos θ = xr and sin θ = yr so that

x = r cos θ, and y = r sin θ

In some cases, polar coordinates are more convenient to represent position than the Cartesian co-
ordinates. Consider the example on figure below: Manhattan is build “rectangularly”. Midtown
Manhattan addresses given by reference to the nearest street (x-coordinate) and avenue y-coordinate
are perfect for orientation. On the other hand, people populate the Burning Man camp filling the
circular arches so one’s position is determined by the angle from one of the two ends (θ-value) and
the distance from the center (r-value).

Cartesian Polar
A curve in Cartesian coordinates can be given by one variable being a function of the other (e.g.
y = y(x)). Analogously, a curve in polar coordinates can be given by r = r(θ). If r = r(θ), then x
and y have parametric equations
x = r(θ) cos θ y = r(θ) sin θ.
Example 1. One of the most important examples of the polar curve is the circle. Consider the
circle x2 + y 2 = a2 . In polar coordinates x2 + y 2 is r2 , so

1
x2 + y 2 = a2 ⇒ r2 = a2 ⇒ r = a (assuming that
a is positive). Thus, r = a is the equation of this
circle in polar coordinates signifying that all the
points on the circle are exactly at distance a from
the origin which matches the intuitive concept of
the circle. The simplicity of the equation r = a
illustrates the importance of polar coordinates.
The inside of the circle r = a is given by the
relation r < a and the outside by r > a.
The (x, y) parametric equations x = a cos θ y = a sin θ
match the parametric equations of the circle discussed in the previous section.
To graph a curve in polar coordinates on your calculator, go to Mode and switch from Func to
Pol. This will switch your calculator to the polar mode. In this mode, you can enter r as a function
of θ when pressing Y= key. Use key X,T,θ,n to display the variable θ. The standard window on
your calculator is set to be 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π. In most
cases, this will be adequate.
For example, the graph of the curve given by
r = 1 − sin θ resembles the shape of a heart
explaining the name cardioid for this type of
curves.
The derivative of a polar curve. Recall that the polar curve r = r(θ) has parametric equations
dy
x = r(θ) cos θ and y = r(θ) sin θ. So, the derivative dx can be found as
dy y 0 (θ)
= 0 .
dx x (θ)
Example 2. Find the line tangent to r = − cos 2θ, at the point with θ = π2 .
dy
Solution. r = − cos 2θ ⇒ x = − cos 2θ cos θ, y = − cos 2θ sin θ. So dx = 22 sin 2θ sin θ−cos 2θ cos θ
sin 2θ cos θ+cos 2θ sin θ
. At
π dy 0−0
θ = 2 , dx = 0−1 = 0, x = 0 and y = 1. Hence, the tangent is the horizontal line y − 1 = 0(x − 0) ⇒
y = 1.
The area bounded by the polar curve r = r(θ) on interval θ ∈ [α, β] is
Z β
1
A= (r(θ))2 dθ
α 2
The validity of this formula will be demonstrated in Calculus 3 course.

Area between two curves in Cartesian and polar coordinates

2
 To find the area between two polar curves r = f (θ) and r = g(θ) on interval θ ∈ [α, β] determine
which curve is at a larger distance from the origin and which is closer to the origin. Say that
0R ≤ g(θ) ≤ f (θ) In this case, the area can be found as the difference of the two integrals A =
β 1 2
Rβ 1 2
α 2 (f (θ)) dθ − α 2 (g(θ)) dθ so that
Z β
1
((f (θ))2 − (g(θ))2 )dθ
A=
α 2

Example 3. Find the area inside the circle r = 2.

Solutions. This problem is to demonstrate

how the formula for the area works and how to
find the bounds for θ more than to discover al-
ready familiar answer r2 π = 4π. The values of
θ for this full circle make “a full circle” so the
bounds are 0 and 2π. The formula produces
Z 2π Z 2π
1 2
A= (2) dθ = 2 dθ = 2θ|2π
0 = 2(2π) = 4π.
0 2 0

Example 4. Find the area inside the curve r = 4 cos θ.

Solutions. Graph the curve first. This is

the circle centered on the x-axis. Note that y-
axis is tangent to the circle. The lower half of
y-axis has the equation θ = −π 2
and the upper
π
part has the equation θ = 2 . Alternatively, note
that the tangent corresponds to r = 0. Solving
r = 4 cos θ = 0 for θ you get that θ = ± π2 . So, the
R π/2
area can be found as A = −π/2 21 (4 cos θ)2 dθ =
R π/2
8 −π/2 cos2 θdθ.

This is the “bad case” of the trigonometric integration which requires a use of the identity
cos θ = 12 (1 + cos 2θ). Using the identity produces
2

Z π/2 π/2
1
A=4 (1+cos 2θ)dθ = 4(θ + sin 2θ) = 4π.
−π/2 2 −π/2

Example 5. Find the area inside the four-

leaved rose r = cos 2θ.
Solutions. Graph the curve and note that
the total area is 4 times the area inside one petal.
Let us look at the right petal. Similarly to the

previous problem, this petal is bounded by two tangents to the rose and that the θ-values corre-
sponding to the limiting r-value r = 0. So, the bounds can be found by solving r = cos 2θ = 0 for θ.
Solve for 2θ first. Obtain 2θ = ± π2 so θ = ± π4 . Hence,
Z π/4 π/4
1 2 1 Z π/4 1 1 π
A=4 cos 2θ dθ = 4 (1 + cos 4θ) dθ = (θ + sin 4θ) = .
−π/4 2 2 −π/4 2 4 −π/4 2

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 Example 6. The “Mastercard” problem. Find the area inside the curve r = 4 cos θ and outside
the curve r = 2.

Solutions. The curves are two intersecting

circles. r = 2 is centered at the origin and
r = 4 cos θ on the x-axis. The region in ques-
tion is the crescent moon on the figure on the
right. The bounds correspond to the smallest θ-
value corresponding to the intersection below the
x-axis and the largest θ-value corresponding to
the intersection above the x-axis. To find the in-
tersections, set the curve equal to each other and
solve for θ. 4 cos θ = 2 ⇒ cos θ = 12 ⇒ θ = ± π3 .
Note that the curve r = 4 cos θ is the outer radius and r = 2 is the inner radius. So, the area is
Z π/3 Z π/3 Z π/3
1 2 2 2
A= ((4 cos θ) − 2 )dθ = (8 cos θ − 2)dθ = (4(1 + cos 2θ) − 2)dθ =
−π/3 2 −π/3 −π/3

π/3
Z π/3 √ 4π
(2 + 4 cos 2θ)dθ = (2θ + 2 sin 2θ) =2 3+ ≈ 7.65.
−π/3 −π/3
3

Example 7. Find the area inside both

r = sin θ and r = 2 sin θ cos θ.
Solutions. Graph the curves first. Note that
they intersect in the first and the second quad-
rant. You can find the total area as two times
the area in the first quadrant. Find the angle of
intersection. sin θ = 2 sin θ cos θ ⇒ 1 = 2 cos θ ⇒
cos θ = 12 ⇒ θ = π3 . Notice how a ray from the
origin between 0 and π3 intersects just r = sin θ
after it passes through the relevant region. And
a ray from the origin between π3 and π2 intersects
just r = 2 sin θ cos θ after it passes through the
relevant region. This indicates that you need two integrals, say A1 and A2 to find the area of this
top part. Thus, the total area A can be computed as
Z π/3 Z π/2
2
A = 2(A1 + A2 ) = sin θdθ + 4 sin2 θ cos2 θdθ
0 π/3

Using the trigonometric identities for the “bad” case, obtain that the area is .307 + .153 = .46.
The arc length of the polar curve r = r(θ) on interval θ ∈ [α, β] q can be can be computed by
integrating the length element ds from α to β. The length element ds is (x0 )2 + (y 0 )2 dθ. Substituting
the derivatives of the parametric equations x =qr(θ) cos θ and y = r(θ) sin θ into the formula for ds
and simplifying, we arrive to the formula ds = ((r)2 + (r0 )2 )dθ. So, the formula for the length is
Z βq
L= (r(θ))2 + (r0 (θ))2 dθ.
α

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 Example 8. Find the length of the four-leaved rose r = cos 2θ. Use the Left-Right Sums program
to approximate the value of the integral computing the length to the first two nonzero digits.

Solutions. The total length is the length

of one petal multiplied by four. For the petal
symmetrically around the x-axis, the bounds are
r = cos 2θ = 0 ⇒ 2θ = ± π2 ⇒ θ = ± π4 .
SetR up √
the integral for the length first as L =
π/4
4 −π/4 cos2 2θ + 4 sin2 2θ dθ. Then switch your
calculator to the function
√ mode and use the pro-
gram. With Y1 = 4 cos 2x + 4 sin2 2x and n =
2

100, the length is L ≈ 9.69.

Practice Problems.
1. Find polar coordinates for the following set of points in Cartesian coordinates:
(2, 0), (0, 3), (−2, 0), (1, 1), (1, −1), (−1, −1).

2. Find Cartesian coordinates for the following set of points in polar coordinates:
√ √
( π2 , 4), (0, 5), (π, 4), ( π4 , 2 2), ( −π
4
, 2 2).
π π 3π
3. Sketch the following regions: (a) r < 1; (b) r < 1, 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2
(c) 1 < r < 3, 2
≤θ≤ 2
.

4. The curves of the form r = sin nθ and r = cos nθ for n = 2, 3, . . . are known as roses. Graph
the rose r = sin nθ for n = 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. Using the graphs, determine how the number of
petals depends on n.

5. Find an equation in polar coordinates for the following set of curves in Cartesian coordinates.
(a) y = x; (b) x2 + y 2 = 4; (c) x2 = 4y.

6. Find an equation in Cartesian coordinates for the following set of curves in polar coordinates.
(a) r = 3; (b) r = sin θ; (c) r = 4 cos θ.

7. Find the slope of the tangent line to the given polar curve at the point specified by the value
of θ. (a) r = 1θ , θ = π; (b) r = 1 + cos θ, θ = π3 .

8. Find the area of the region that is bounded by the given curve(s) and lies in the specified sector.

(a) Area inside the curve r = 2 and outside the curve r = 4 cos θ.
(b) Area inside both r = 2 and r = 4 cos θ.
(c) Area inside both r = 4 sin θ and r = 4 cos θ.
(d) Area inside the curve r = 2 and outside the curve r = 2 sin θ.
(e) Area inside the curve r = 4 sin(2θ) and outside the curve r = 2.

9. Find the length of the following polar curves.

(a) r = 2 cos θ, 0 ≤ θ ≤ π2 . (b) r = e2θ , 0 ≤ θ ≤ π2 . (c) r = θ2 , 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π.

(d) Find the length of the three-leaved rose r = sin 3θ. Use the Left-Right Sums program to
approximate the value of the integral computing the length to the first two nonzero digits.

5
Solutions.
1. You can use the graphical representation of most of the given numbers to determine their polar
coordinate representation. The point (2, 0) is on the x-axis. Thus θ = 0. The point (2, 0)
is at a distance 2 from the origin so r = 2. So, (θ, r) = (0, 2). Similarly, (x, y) = (0, 3) ⇒
(θ, r) = ( π2 , 3). (x, y) = (−2, 0) ⇒ (θ, r) = (π, 2).
√
If (x, y) = (1, 1) ⇒ r2 = 12 + 12 ⇒ r = 2. From the representation √ in the xy-plane, note that
π −1 1 π π
θ = 4 . Alternatively, find θ as tan 1 = 4 . So (θ, r) = ( 4 , 2). Similarly, (x, y) = (1, −1) ⇒
√ √
(θ, r) = ( −π4
, 2). (x, y) = (−1, −1) ⇒ (θ, r) = ( 5π
4
, 2).
2. In this problem also you can use the graphical representation. Alternatively, use the formulas
x = r cos θ and y = r sin θ.
(θ, r) = ( π2 , 4) ⇒ (x, y) = (0, 4), (θ, r) = (0, 5) ⇒ (x, y) = (5, 0), (θ, r) = (π, 4) ⇒ (x, y) =
√ √
(−4, 0), (θ, r) = ( π4 2 2) ⇒ (x, y) = (2, 2), (θ, r) = ( −π
4
, 2 2) ⇒ (x, y) = (2, −2).
3. (a) Recall r = 1 represents the unit circle centered at the origin i.e. all the points that are at
distance 1 from the origin. Thus, r < 1 represents all the points that are at a distance smaller
than 1 from the origin i.e. the inside of the unit circle.
π
(b) By the previous problem r < 1 is the inside of the unit circle. Since 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2
denotes the
first quadrant, the region is upper right quarter of the inside of the unit circle.
(c) 1 < r < 3 represents the region between the circle of radius 1 and the circle of radius 3
centered at the origin. Since π2 ≤ θ ≤ 3π 2
represents the region in the second and the third
quadrant, the region is the left half of the annulus with inner radius 1 and outer radius 3.
4. Graphing the curve for n = 2, 3, . . . , 7, you observe the following
n 2 3 4 5 6 7
This indicated that this rose has 2n petals if n is even
no. of petals 4 3 8 5 12 7
and n petals if n is odd. The number of petals of the rose y = cos nθ follows the same pattern.
5. (a) y = x ⇒ r sin θ = r cos θ ⇒ sin θ = cos θ ⇒ tan θ = 1 ⇒ θ = π4 and θ = 5π
4
. The expression
π 5π
θ = 4 represents the half line of y = x in the first and the expression θ = 4 represents the
half line of y = x in the third quadrant.
(b) x2 + y 2 = 4 ⇒ r2 = 4 ⇒ r = 2.
4 sin θ
(c) x2 = 4y ⇒ r2 cos2 θ = 4r sin θ ⇒ r cos2 θ = 4 sin θ ⇒ r = cos2 θ
is the equation of this
parabola in polar coordinates.
6. (a) r = 3 is the equation of the circle centered at the origin of radius 3. In Cartesian coordinates
is it x2 + y 2 = 9.
(b) Multiply the equation r = sin θ by r to get r2 = r sin θ so that the left side becomes x2 + y 2
and the right side becomes y. Thus, the equation is x2 + y 2 = y. Note that this is the circle
centered at (0, 12 ) of radius 12 .
√
(c) r = 4 cos θ ⇒ r2 = 4r cos θ ⇒ x2 + y 2 = 4x or y = ± 4x − x2 . Note that this is the circle
centered at (2,0) of radius 2.
θ cos θ−sin θ
1 1 cos θ 1 sin θ dy θ2 θ cos θ−sin θ
7. (a) r = θ
⇒x= θ
cos θ = θ
, y= θ
sin θ = θ
. So dx
= −θ sin θ−cos θ = −θ sin θ−cos θ
. At θ = π,
θ2
dy
dx
= −π.

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 dy − sin θ sin θ+(1+cos θ) cos θ
(b) r = 1 + cos θ, ⇒ x = (1 + cos θ) cos θ, y = (1 + cos θ) sin θ. So dx
= − sin θ cos θ−(1+cos θ) sin θ
. At
dy − 3 + 34
θ = π3 , dx
= √4 √ = 0.
− 43 − 3 4 3

8. (a) The region here is the opposite crescent moon than the one in the “mastercard” problem
(Example 6). Recall that in that problem we have found that the circles intersect at θ = ± π3 .
Note that from π3 to π2 , there is an inner and outer radius. To see that, look at a ray from the
origin between π3 to π2 – note that it intersect both curves. Also note that and r = 2 is outer and
R π/2
r = 4 cos θ is inner. Let us refer to that portion as A1 . Thus A1 = π/3 12 (22 − (4 cos θ)2 )dθ =
R π/2 2 π/2 −π
√
π/3 (2 − 8 cos θ)dθ = (2θ − 4θ − 2 sin 2θ)|π/3 = 3 + 3 = 0.685.
From π2 to π, on the other hand, Ra ray from the origin intersects just the curve r = 2. So, this
π 1 2
portion, let us call it A2 is A2 = π/2 2
2 = 2 π2 = π.
A1 + A2 covers just the area above x-axis. So, the total area A = 2(A1 + A2 ) = 7.65.
(b) Let us look at the part of the intersection of the two circles above x-axis. From Example 6
(and the previous problem), we know that the intersection of two circles is at π3 . Notice how a ray
from the origin between 0 and π3 intersects just r = 2 after it passes through the relevant region.
And a ray from the origin between π3 and π2 intersects just r = 4 cos θ after it passes through
the relevant region. This indicates that you need two integrals, say A1 and A2 to find R π/3
the area
of this top part. Then the total area A can be computed as A = 2(A1 + A2 ) = 2 0 12 22 dθ +
R π/2 R π/3 R π/2 π/2 √
2 π/3 12 (4 cos θ)2 dθ = 0 4dθ + 16 π/3 cos2 θdθ = 4π3
+ 8(θ + 1
2
sin 2θ)|π/3 = 8π
3
− 2 3 = 4.91.
(c) The intersection is π4 . Similarly to Example 7, you can find the area as the sum of two areas
R π/4 R π/2
A = A1 + A2 = 0 21 (4 sin θ)2 dθ + π/4 21 (4 cos θ)2 dθ = 1.14 + 1.14 = 2.283.
(d) Area can be found as two times the area right from the y-axis. In the first quadrant,
the curve r = 2 is the outer radius and r = 2 sin θ is the inner radius. The bounds are
0 to π2 . In the fourth quadrant, just r = 2 is relevant and the bounds are −π
2
to 0. So
R0 π
1 2 1
(2 sin θ)2 dθ
R
A = 2(A1 + A2 ) = 2 −π
2
2 dθ +2 2
0 2
= 2π + π = 3π.
2

(e) You can compute the area as 4 times the area in the first quadrant. Note from the graph
that the bounds are the intersections: 4 sin(2θ) = 2 ⇒ sin(2θ) = 21 ⇒ 2θ = sin−1 ( 12 ) = π6 and
2θ = π − sin−1 ( 12 ) = π − π6 = 5π
6
π
⇒ θ = 12 and 5π
12
. The curve r = 4 sin(2θ) is outer and r = 2
is inner. Thus the area is
R 5π/12 1 R 5π/12 R 5π/12
A=4 π/12 ((4 sin(2θ))2 −22 )dθ
2
=2 π/12 (16 sin2 (2θ)−4)dθ = 2
(8(1−cos(4θ))−4)dθ =π/12
R 5π/12 5π/12 √
2 π/12 (4−8 cos(4θ))dθ = = 2(4 π3 −2 sin 5π
2(4θ− 84 sin(4θ))|π/12 3
+2 sin π
3
) = 8π
3
+4 3 = 15.306
R π/2 √ R π/2 √
9. (a) r = 2 cos θ ⇒ r0 = −2 sin θ. Thus L = 0 4 cos2 θ + 4 sin2 θ dθ = 0 4dθ = π.
π/2 √ π/2
√ R π/2 √ 2θ
r = e2θ √⇒ r0 = 2e2θ . Thus L = 0 e4θ + 4e4θ dθ = 0 5e4θ dθ = 0
R R
(b)
√
5e dθ =
5 2θ π/2 5 π
2
e |0 = 2 (e − 1) ≈ 24.75.
R √ R √
(c) r = θ2 ⇒ r0 = 2θ. L = 02π θ4 + 4θ2 dθ = 02π θ2 + 4 θ dθ. Using the substitution θ2 +4 = u
obtain L = 13 (4π 2 + 4)3/2 − 8) ≈ 92.896.
(d) Find the total length as the length of one petal multiplied by three. √Find the bounds from
R π/3
π
r = sin 3θ = 0 ⇒ 3θ = 0 and 3θ = π ⇒ θ = 0 and θ = 3 . So, L = 3 0 sin2 3θ + 9 cos2 3θdθ.
√ 2
Switch your calculator back to function mode and enter Y1 = 3 sin 3x + 9 cos2 3x. Obtain
that L ≈ 6.68.