Graphing Polar Equations Graphing polar equations is similar to graphing rectangular equations in that we plot some points to get an idea of the shape of the graph.
Example 1: Sketch the graph: First find some ordered pairs and then plot the points.
At θ = π the points start repeating At θ = π the points start repeating. Draw a smooth curve through the points.
Example 2: Sketch the graph: This time let’s start with the knowledge that any equations of the form … … are circles.
Plot just a few points to determine where the circle is.
Example 3: Sketch the graph: Equations of the form … … are cardioids (heart shaped).
Plot just a few points to determine where the cardioid is.