| 21 | Alternative Coordinate Systems |
The coordinate plane you have seen so far, called the Cartesian plane or the xy plane, is not the only means by which points can be located and curves graphed on a flat surface. Instead of moving right/left and up/down from an origin or reference point, you can travel outward in a specified direction from that point. You aren’t restricted to two dimensions, either. In this chapter, you’ll learn about some three-dimensional coordinate systems.
MATHEMATICIAN’S POLAR COORDINATES
The forms of polar coordinate plane most often used by mathematicians are shown in Figs. 21-1 and 21-2. The independent variable is plotted as an angle θ counterclockwise from a reference axis pointing to the right (or “east”), and ...
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