Coordinate Systems & different types of Coordinate Systems
To specify the location of a point in space, a coordinate system must be used. A coordinate system consists of a reference point called the origin O and a set of labeled axes. The positive direction of an axis is in the direction of increasing numbers, whereas the negative direction is the opposite.
different types of Coordinate Systems in 2 dimensions
Figures 1 and 2 show the rectangular (or Cartesian) coordinate system and the polar coordinates of a point, respectively.
The rectangular coordinates x and y are related to the polar coordinates r and θ by the following relations:
x = r cos θ
y = r sin θ
tan θ = y/x
r = √(x2 + y2)
![figure 1: The rectangular (cartesian) coordinate system](https://physicsteacher.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image-3.png)
![figure 2: The polar coordinate system](https://physicsteacher.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image-4.png)
different types of Coordinate Systems in 3 dimensions – with diagram
In three dimensions, the cartesian coordinate system is shown in Fig. 3.
![figure 3: The cartesian coordinate system in three dimensions](https://physicsteacher.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image-5.png)
Other used coordinate systems in three dimensions are the spherical and cylindrical coordinates (Figs. 4 and 5).
![figure 4: The spherical coordinate system](https://physicsteacher.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image-6.png)
![figure 5: The cylindrical coordinate system](https://physicsteacher.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/image-7.png)