Rectangular to polar worksheet
Going the other way, r is the distance from the origin, so Pythagoras gives it. The angle comes from the inverse tangent of y over x, and then you check which quadrant the point is actually in.
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Free math worksheets at sigmaprep.io/worksheets© 2026 Sigma Prep
Sigma Prep · sigmaprep.io/worksheets Name Rectangular to PolarDate Period Convert each point to polar form.
Free math worksheets at sigmaprep.io/worksheets© 2026 Sigma Prep |
Sigma Prep · sigmaprep.io/worksheets Name Rectangular to PolarAnswer keyVersion 1Date Period Convert each point to polar form.
Free math worksheets at sigmaprep.io/worksheets© 2026 Sigma Prep |
How to do these
Convert to polar form
- r is the root of 1 plus 1, which is root 2.
- The inverse tangent of -1 suggests -pi over 4.
- The point is in the second quadrant, so add pi.
The answer is .
Where students go wrong
Trusting the calculator angle. Inverse tangent only ever returns an angle in the first or fourth quadrant, so for a point on the left of the y-axis you have to add pi yourself.
Also called converting rectangular to polar or cartesian to polar.