Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus, 7th Edition

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 1305071751
ISBN 13: 978-1-30507-175-9

Chapter 8 - Section 8.1 - Polar Coordinates - 8.1 Exercises - Page 592: 4

Answer

No.

Work Step by Step

From the formulas $r^{2}=x^{2}+y^{2}$ and $\displaystyle \tan\theta=\frac{y}{x}$, finding $r^{2}$ leads to r having a possibility to be positive or negative (already more than one representation possible). Solving $\displaystyle \tan\theta=\frac{y}{x}$ produces an angle $\theta$ as a valid angle in representing the point. . The angle$ \theta+\pi$ has the same tangent, so it could also be taken as a valid angle in representing the point. $(r,\theta)$ and $(-r, \theta+\pi)$ represent the same point. You could think of r as being the DIRECTED distance to the point. If the terminal side of the angle passes through the point, r is positive, and if it terminates in the symetrically opposite quadrant, r is negative. Furthermore, for a given $\theta$, valid angles are also $\theta+2k\pi, k\in \mathbb{Z}$, so there are infinitely many polar coordinate representations for a single point. Example 2 on page 589 has accompanying figures to demonstrate this. So, no, the representation is not unique.
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