How do you graph r=-2sintheta?

1 Answer
Oct 14, 2016

The way that you graph this is, set your compass to a radius of 1, put the center point at (0, -1), and draw a circle.

Explanation:

Multiply both sides by r:

r^2 = -2rsin(theta)

Substitute x^2 + y^2 for r^2 and y for rsin(theta)

x^2 + y^2 = -2y

Write x^2 as (x - 0)^2:

(x - 0)^2 + y^2 = -2y

Add 2y + k^2 to both sides:

(x - 0)^2 + y^2 + 2y + k^2= k^2

Using the pattern (y - k)^2 = x^2 - 2ky + k^2 we observe that we can use the 2y term to find the value of k and k^2:

-2ky = 2y

k = -1 and k^2 = 1

Substitute this into the equation:

(x - 0)^2 + y^2 + 2y + 1= 1

This means y terms on the left side can be written as (y - -1)^2:

(x - 0)^2 + (y - -1)^2 = 1^2

The way that you graph this is, set your compass to a radius of 1, put the center point at (0, -1), and draw a circle.