Polar Area

Area in polar coordinates

Calculating area in a polar coordinate system is very similar to calculating area in a cartesian coordinate system. In both systems, you have an upper and lower bound between which you’re asked to find the area. In a cartesian coordinate system, you were asked to find the area underneath a curve, that is, the area between the curve and the horizontal axis. In a polar coordinate system, you don’t have the same kind of horizontal x-axis, only the center point, which is the origin, so you’ll be asked to calculate the area bounded by the curve, which will mean all of the area inside the polar curve around the origin.

Use this formula to find the area bounded by a polar curve.