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Mathematics 20 Online
OpenStudy (anonymous):

Hi there, I'm currently stuck on a problem, and have no idea where to start on it. It involves converting a polar equation to Cartesian coordinates. I've tried converting it to rectangle form, then trying to solve it from there, but I'm still confused. Here's the polar eq. http://puu.sh/gXwTL/15f16a6bd8.png

OpenStudy (nikvist):

\[r=\frac{4}{2\cos\theta-3\sin\theta}\]\[4=r(2\cos\theta-3\sin\theta)=2r\cos\theta-3r\sin\theta\]\[x=r\cos\theta,y=r\sin\theta\]\[4=2x-3y\]

OpenStudy (anonymous):

How did you get from the first to second step? Could you explain to me?

OpenStudy (nikvist):

Simple, if \[c=\frac{a}{b}\]then \[a=b\cdot c\]

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Oh, okay! I get it now! Thanks for guiding me through. So you just substitute x and y for the polar coordinates?

OpenStudy (nikvist):

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Thank you very much! I see how it works now.

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