This document contains a series of questions which are designed to make polar coordinates clear.

Well learn what

they are and how to use them by solving problems with them. It would be more useful to you if you have a pen and
paper handy to draw diagrams and keep track of your thoughts.

Plane Polar Coordinates

The passage from Cartesians to Polars is simply a choice to use new axes. Instead of the i and j axes (which we could
otherwise denote ex and ey ) we make a change of axes to er and e . We make the decision that er points in the
direction of the position of the particle (which makes an angle with the horizontal) so that it points in the direction
of increasing radial distance, r. Furthermore we set e to point in the direction of increasing which turns out to
be orthogonal to er . Draw a diagram to illustrate the basic set-up. The point is that we could describe a particles
position either by stating its x and y components as a function of time for use with Cartesian axes or instead by
stating its distance from the origin and the angle it makes with the horizontal for use with Polar coordinates.
Question 1: Using your diagram, resolve er into its x and y components to show that er = cos i + sin j.
In the tutorials I shortened this to er = (cos , sin ). If you wanted to you could also show that e =
sin i + cos j. Hint: Recall that we are dealing with unit vectors here - for er draw a vector of length 1
at an angle to the horizontal axis.
Note that what we have done in the above question is to express the new unit vectors in terms of the Cartesian unit
vectors we have written er in terms of i and j. The results above show that both of our new unit vectors have a
direction which depends on ; they are not constant. As an objects position changes, so too do the polar axes which
are attached to it. But er will always point from the origin in the direction of the particle. This is why we can write
r (t) = r (t) er ( (t))

(1)

where I have noted that er depends on the parameter t because it depends on (which presumably has some dependence
on t if the particle is moving on some arbitrary path). The equation above is simply a statement that to get to the
position of the particle we have to go a distance r in the direction er , since of course er points in the direction of the
particle. Note above that the r (t) on the right hand side is a scalar distance. If we now use the expression we have
for er we can write that
r (t) = r cos i + r sin j
(2)
which I draw attention to for the following reason. If you were to simply draw a vector of length r at an angle to
the horizontal and then resolve it into its x and y components then the above equation is precisely what you would
write down. I suggest you do this to make sure you understand what I mean. So the idea of polar coordinates is not
entirely unfamiliar; all we are doing here is formalising the ideas and exploring their consequences. The geometry we
are considering here is sometimes expressed by writing the transition from Cartesians to Polars as
r 2 = x2 + y 2
x = r cos
y
y = r cos
tan =
x
which encapsulates everything we have discussed up to this point. This should be clear from your diagram.

(3)
(4)

Question 2: Since the unit vectors are not constant we need to know how they vary with time or position.
Lets suppose we know how the particle moves with time; i.e. somebody tells us r (t) and (t) (the scalar
distance from the origin and the angle it makes with the horizontal). By using the chain rule show that
and e = e
r . Hint: Use the expressions from Question 1 and differentiate with respect to t
e r = e
using the chain rule. Remember depends on t.
Question 3: Now that we have the rate of change of the unit vectors we can find expressions for the
velocity and acceleration of the particle written with respect to the polar axes. Find r (t) and r (t) by
d
starting from r (t) = dt
(rer ) and applying the product rule. You should find

r (t) = re
r + re




r (t) = r r2 er + 2r + r e

(5)
(6)

Hint: Use the results of Question 2 and apply the product rule.
In the above equations, the pieces of the velocity and acceleration which are in front of er are referred to as radial
components because they are associated with a change which points in the radial direction and the bits in front of e
are called transverse or angular because they are telling us about changes in angle. Now that weve found these
preliminary results we can do some examples. There are always many ways to answer questions and the trick is trying
to see which will be quickest. Here we also want to illustrate our results so bear with me whilst we work through some
basics.
1

*Question 4: Its quite interesting to consider the consequences of the equations for acceleration. Suppose
that you are a stationary observer and that you are watching a particle whiz around under the influence
of some force. Then Newtons law in your frame tells you that F = mr. Lets work out what exactly the
particle feels in its frame: imagine that the only force acting is radial so that F = f er only. Use Netwons
law to show that the particles distance from the origin r (t) can be described by an effective force
F = f + mr2 . This is the fictitious centrifugal force that we feel going around a roundabout. Hint: Use
the radial part of the acceleration in Question 3; use Newtons law and rearrange for r.
Question 5: A particle is attached to a spring and undergoes simple harmonic motion: r (t) = 2 cos 0 t
and (t) = 0. Use this information to write the particles position vector in Cartesians to show that the
motion is simple harmonic on the x-axis. Use the Polar coordinate expression for velocity and acceleration
to write down the radial and transverse components.
Question 6: A particle moves on the trajectory r (t) = ln t and (t) = 2 sin t for 1 6 t 6 2 . Write the
motion in Cartesian components. Work out the transverse and radial velocity and acceleration.
Question 7: Given the Cartesian expression for position r (t) = (2 cos t, 3 sin t) work out the radial
distance r (t) and the angle it makes with the horizontal (t). Show also that the particle moves on an
ellipse with major / minor axes of length 3 and 2. Hint: Use the transition functions to transform the x
and y components into Polar coordinates r and . Recall the equation of an ellipse from the last homework.
Question 8: In this question we will work out the angular momentum of a given motion. First consider
a bike wheel spinning about its natural axis which we will take to be aligned along the z-axis so that the
wheel spins in the x y plane. Explain why a point on its rim moves with polar components r (t) = R0 , a
constant, and (t) = t. Convert the motion to Cartesian coordinates and work out the velocity. Hence
work out the angular momentum L = mr r . Important Hint: The cross product is only well defined with
three dimensional vectors. Once youve worked out the x and y components of the position and velocity you
can promote both vectors to 3d by simply setting their z-components equal to zero. The angular momentum
will end up pointing in the z-direction can you understand why using the right hand rule for the cross
product?
Question 9: In the same way as the previous question we will work out the angular momentum for the
motion r (t) = arctan t and (t) = t (1 et ) for t > 0. Try to get a rough picture of the motion in
your head. First convert to Cartesians and then work out the angular momentum. What happens for very
small and very large t?
Question 10: The spring in Question 5 is now threaded to a pivot which allows it to rotate in the x-y plane.
The thread is rotated at a constant rate (where initially < 0 ) so that the motion can be described

p
02 2 t .
by (t) = t. This also has an effect on the radial motion so that in this case r (t) = 2 cos
Repeat the analysis of Question 4 in particular show that the particle now has transverse components
of velocity and acceleration. Is the radial acceleration greater than or less than in the previous question?
What happens if we increase until = 0 or beyond? Hint: The first part of the question requires the
same differentiation as the previous one. When investigating the effect of increasing it may be worthwhile
to look first at the position vector and to then consider the effective force in the same style as Question 4.
Question 11: Show that the magnitude of the velocity in Polars is equal to r 2 + r2 2 . Thus write down
2
an expression for the kinetic energy (E = 21 m |r| ). Convert this back to Cartesians to show that you get
the correct expression written in terms of x (t) and y (t). Hint: Recall that the unit vectors er and e are
orthogonal and use the expression for velocity in Polars. Use the transition functions to convert r, r and
into Cartesians.

Spherical Polar Coordinates

Plane polars work very well for systems which have a symmetry in the x y plane or are confined to that plane.
But to really describe proper three dimensional motion we need to consider spherical polar coordinates. Again we are
simply making a change of axes from {i, j, k} to {er , e , e }. The transition is given by
r2 = x2 + y 2 + z 2
z
cos =
r
y
tan =
x
2

x = r sin cos

(7)

y = r sin sin

(8)

z = r cos

(9)

z
e
r
h

er
e

r sin

Now it is extremely important to try to understand this. Have a look at the diagram and let me take you through it.
First note that the new axes point in the direction of increasing r, and respectively and are still orthogonal, though
once again are position dependent. Varying r corresponds to moving radially inwards and outwards which is easy to
understand. Changing corresponds to changing the dip from the vertical this is shown by the vertical dashed arc.
Changing corresponds to rotating in the x y plane and is shown by the dashed horizontal ellipse. Can you now
understand why these variables naturally fill out a sphere? We must also note that we restrict r > 0, 0 < < and
0 6 < 2 to ensure that we only cover the sphere once. Try considering what happens if you let range up to 2;
can you see that you would cover the sphere twice?
The easiest transformation to understand is the z transformation. The horizontal dashed line from the position of the
particle to the z-axis finishes a right-angle triangle. Simple trigonometry shows that the height of the particle along
the z-axis (labelled h) is given by z = r cos . For the x and y transformations we will apply similar trigonometry.
However, as I have labelled on the diagram, the length that the vector has in the x y plane is given by r sin .
This can be derived by noting the right angled triangle made by joining the particle vertically to the x y plane and
seeing that the angle also appears in this triangle as labelled. Once we have the length of the vector it is easy to
then resolve this length onto the x and y axes much as we did for plane polars for the x component we multiply
the length by cos and for the y component we multiply it by sin . We have thus found that x = r sin cos and
y = r sin sin which completes the transformations.
Now we know the x, y and z components of the transformation we know how to write the position of the particle in
terms of these axes:
r = r sin cos i + r sin sin j + r cos k
(10)
and we can use this to work out the expression for er with respect to the Cartesian axes. Since this vector must point
in the direction from the origin to the particle, just as in polar coordinates, it lies in the direction r. Furthermore it
must be of unit magnitude so we simply need to normalise the above expression.
Question 1: Show that |r| = r so that if we normalise it we find that
er = (sin cos , sin sin , cos )

(11)

There are similar expressions for the other two unit vectors which you should have been given in your lectures. Now
at this point, if we so wished, we could follow the tutorial sheet (Question 2) and work out how the vectors change
with time by differentiating them. If you wish to do so then please do follow through the working from that question.
However, it is a little less instructive to do so and is rather tedious so instead we will focus on actually using the above
information to carry out some calculations.
Question 2: A particle moves on the surface of a sphere (so r = R0 , a constant) at an angle of 4 to
the vertical, rotating in the x y plane at a constant rate. Explain why = 4 and = t. Use the
transformation functions to re-write this with respect to Cartesian axes. Hint: Use the expression for r (t)
written in terms of i, j, and k and substitute the values of r, and .


Question 3: A particles trajectory is given as follows: r (t) = R0 1 21 sin t ; (t) = (1 et ) ; =
t for t > 0. Can you imagine what this trajectory looks like? Use the transformation functions to express
this in terms of x, y and z components look how much more complicated it is in this case!
Question 4: A helix is described by circular motion in the x y plane and a constant velocity in the
z-direction: x = R cos t, y = R sin t and z = vt. Use the transition functions to express this in spherical
polars that is, find r, and . Can you understand the evolution of these variables what happens for
very small or very large times?




Question 5: A circular orbit is given by r = 10 cos t, 10 2 sin t, 10 cos t . Work out the radial and
spherical angular components of the motion. Back in Cartesians now, work out the velocity and acceleration to demonstrate that it is indeed motion under a central force. Furthermore work out the angular
momentum. Interpret your result to determine the orientation of the circle. Hint: There are two vectors
orthogonal to L which will tell you the orientation of the circle.

Thats pretty much it for now. Further questions from the homework sheet may help you if youre struggling; look at
Questions 20, 21 and 27 but note that they are not really related the polars. The most important thing is to get your
head around the geometry of the transformations and try to imagine what is going on. If you work through this sheet
and your lectures notes you should be ok. Please let me know if you have any questions.