What are the components of the vector between the origin and the polar coordinate #(5, (pi)/8)#?

1 Answer
Dec 19, 2017

#(4.619, 1.913)#

Explanation:

First off, acknowledge the fact that the question is simply asking you to convert from the polar coordinate to rectangular, namely, x and y components. From here, we will be using a few givens:
#(1)# Polar coordinates take the form #(r, theta)#
#(2)# #x = rcos(theta)#
#(3)# #y = rsin(theta)#

Now we simply evaluate #(2)# and #(3)# using #r = 5# and #theta = pi/8#.

Thus, our components are #(4.619, 1.913)#, and we are done.