Section 9.

4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka

Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates
In this section we develop the formula for the area of a region whose boundary is given by a polar equation.
We need to use the formula for the area of a sector of a circle
A =
1
2
r
2
(1)
where r is the radius and is the radian measure of the central angle. Formula 1 follows from the fact
that the area of a sector is proportional to its central angle:
A =

2
r
2
=
1
2
r
2

Let R be the region bounded by the polar curve r = f() and by the rays = a and = b, where f is a
positive continuous function and where 0 < b a 2.
We divide the interval [a, b] into subintervals with endpoints
0
,
1
,
2
, . . . ,
n
and equal width . The
rays =
i
then divide R into n smaller regions with central angle =
i

i1
. If we choose

i
in the
ith subinterval [
i1
,
i
], then the area A
i
of the ith region is approximated by the area of the sector of
a circle with central angle and radius f(

i
). Thus from Formula 1 we have
A
i

1
2
[f(

i
)]
2
(2)
and so an approximation to the total area A of R is A
n

i=1
1
2
[f(

i
)]
2
. One can see that the approxima-
tion in (2) improves as n . But the sums in (2) are Riemann sums for the function g() =
1
2
[f()]
2
,
so
lim
n
n

i=1
1
2
[f(

i
)]
2
=
_
b
a
1
2
[f()]
2
d
It therefore appears plausible (and can in fact be proved) that the formula for the area A of the polar
region R is
A =
_
b
a
1
2
[f()]
2
d (3)
This formula is often written as
A =
_
b
a
1
2
r
2
d (4)
1
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the area of each of the following regions:
(a) (b) (c) (d)
Solution:
(a) We have
A =
_
3/4
/4
1
2
1
2
d =
1
2
_
3/4
/4
d =
1
2
_
3
4


4
_
=
1
2
_
2
4
_
=

4
(b) We have
A =
_
2+/4
3/4
1
2
1
2
d =
1
2
_
2+/4
3/4
d =
1
2
_
2 +

4

3
4
_
=
1
2
_
2
2
4
_
=

4
=
3
4
(c) We have
A =
_
7/4
5/4
1
2
1
2
d =
1
2
_
7/4
5/4
d =
1
2
_
7
4

5
4
_
=
1
2
_
2
4
_
=

4
(d) We have
A =
_
2+/4
7/4
1
2
1
2
d =
1
2
_
2+/4
7/4
d =
1
2
_
2 +

4

7
4
_
=
1
2
_
2
6
4
_
=
3
4
=

4
or
A =
_
/4
/4
1
2
1
2
d =
1
2
_
/4
/4
d =
1
2
_

4

_

4
__
=
1
2
_

4
+

4
_
=

4
EXAMPLE: Find the area of the inner loop of r = 2 + 4 cos .
2
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the area of the inner loop of r = 2 + 4 cos .
Solution: We rst nd a and b:
2 + 4 cos = 0 = cos =
1
2
= =
2
3
,
4
3
Therefore the area is
A =
_
4/3
2/3
1
2
(2 + 4 cos )
2
d =
_
4/3
2/3
1
2
(4 + 16 cos + 16 cos
2
)d
=
_
4/3
2/3
(2 + 8 cos + 4(1 + cos(2))d =
_
4/3
2/3
(6 + 8 cos + 4 cos(2))d
=
_
6 + 8 sin + 2 sin(2)
_
4/3
2/3
= 4 6

3 2.174
EXAMPLE: Find the area enclosed by one loop of the four-leaved rose r = cos 2.
3
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the area enclosed by one loop of the four-leaved rose r = cos 2.
Solution: Notice that the region enclosed by the right loop is swept out by a ray that rotates from = /4
to = /4. Therefore, Formula 4 gives
A =
_
/4
/4
1
2
r
2
d =
1
2
_
/4
/4
cos
2
2d =
_
/4
0
cos
2
2d
=
_
/4
0
1
2
(1 + cos 4)d =
1
2
_
+
1
4
sin 4
_
/4
0
=

8
Let R be the region bounded by curves with polar equations r = f(), r = g(), = a, and = b, where
f() g() 0 and 0 < b a 2. Then the area A of R is
A =
_
b
a
1
2
_
[f()]
2
[g()]
2
_
d
EXAMPLE: Find the area that lies inside r = 3 + 2 sin and outside r = 2.
4
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the area that lies inside r = 3 + 2 sin and outside r = 2.
Solution: We rst nd a and b:
3 + 2 sin = 2 = sin =
1
2
= =
7
6
,

6
_
11
6
_
Therefore the area is
A =
_
7/6
/6
1
2
_
(3 + 2 sin )
2
2
2

d =
_
7/6
/6
1
2
(5 + 12 sin + 4 sin
2
)d
=
_
7/6
/6
1
2
(7 + 12 sin 2 cos(2))d =
1
2
_
7 12 cos sin(2)
_
7/6
/6
=
11

3
2
+
14
3
24.187
EXAMPLE: Find the area of the region outside r = 3 + 2 sin and inside r = 2.
5
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the area of the region outside r = 3 + 2 sin and inside r = 2.
Solution: We have
A =
_
11/6
7/6
1
2
_
2
2
(3 + 2 sin)
2

d
=
_
11/6
7/6
1
2
(5 12 sin 4 sin
2
)d
=
_
11/6
7/6
1
2
(7 12 sin + 2 cos(2))d =
1
2
_
7 + 12 cos + sin(2)
_
11/6
7/6
=
11

3
2

7
3
2.196
EXAMPLE: Find all points of intersection of the curves r = cos 2 and r =
1
2
.
Solution: If we solve the equations r = cos 2 and r =
1
2
, we get cos 2 =
1
2
and, therefore,
2 = /3, 5/3, 7/3, 11/3
Thus the values of between 0 and 2 that satisfy both equations are
= /6, 5/6, 7/6, 11/6
We have found four points of intersection:
_
1
2
, /6
_
,
_
1
2
, 5/6
_
,
_
1
2
, 7/6
_
, and
_
1
2
, 11/6
_
However, you can see from the above gure that the curves have four other points of intersection namely,
_
1
2
, /3
_
,
_
1
2
, 2/3
_
,
_
1
2
, 4/3
_
, and
_
1
2
, 5/3
_
These can be found using symmetry or by noticing that another equation of the circle is r =
1
2
and then
solving the equations r = cos 2 and r =
1
2
.
6
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
Arc Length
To nd the length of a polar curve r = f(), a b, we regard as a parameter and write the
parametric equations of the curve as
x = r cos = f() cos y = r sin = f() sin
Using the Product Rule and dierentiating with respect to , we obtain
dx
d
=
dr
d
cos r sin
dy
d
=
dr
d
sin + r cos
So, using cos
2
+ sin
2
= 1, we have
_
dx
d
_
2
+
_
dy
d
_
2
=
_
dr
d
_
2
cos
2
2r
dr
d
cos sin + r
2
sin
2

+
_
dr
d
_
2
sin
2
+ 2r
dr
d
sin cos + r
2
cos
2
=
_
dr
d
_
2
+ r
2
Assuming that f

is continuous, we can use one of the formulas from Section 9.2 to write the arc length as
L =
_
b
a

_
dx
d
_
2
+
_
dy
d
_
2
d
Therefore, the length of a curve with polar equation r = f(), a b, is
L =
_
b
a

r
2
+
_
dr
d
_
2
d (5)
EXAMPLE: Find the length of the curve r = , 0 1.
7
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the length of the curve r = , 0 1.
Solution: We have
L =
_
1
0

2
+ 1d =
_

_
= tanx =

2
+ 1 =

tan
2
x + 1 =

sec
2
x = | sec x| = sec x
d = d tanx
d = sec
2
xdx
_

_
=
_
/4
0
sec
3
xdx =
_
1
2
(sec xtan x + ln | sec x + tanx|)
_
/4
0
=
1
2
(

2 + ln(1 +

2))
EXAMPLE: Find the length of the cardioid r = 1 + sin .
8
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the length of the cardioid r = 1 + sin .
Solution: The full length of the cardioid is given by the parameter interval 0 2, so Formula 5 gives
L =
_
2
0

r
2
+
_
dr
d
_
2
d =
_
2
0
_
(1 + sin )
2
+ cos
2
d =
_
2
0
_
1 + 2 sin + sin
2
+ cos
2
d
=
_
2
0

2 + 2 sin d =

2
_
2
0

1 + sin d =

2
_
2
0

1 + sin

1 sin

1 sin
d
=

2
_
2
0
_
1 sin
2

1 sin
d =

2
_
2
0

cos
2

1 sin
d =

2
_
2
0
| cos |

1 sin
d
=

2
_
/2
0
cos

1 sin
d

2
_
/2+
/2
cos

1 sin
d +

2
_
2
/2+
cos

1 sin
d
Note that
_
cos

1 sin
d =
_

_
1 sin = u
d(1 sin ) = du
cos d = du
cos d = du
_

_
=
_
du

u
=
_
u
1/2
du =
u
1/2+1
1/2 + 1
+ C
= 2

u + C
= 2

1 sin + C
Therefore
L = 2

1 sin
_
/2
0
+ 2

1 sin
_
/2+
/2
2

1 sin
_
2
/2+
= 2

2
_
_
1 sin(/2)

1 sin 0
_
+ 2

2
_
_
1 sin(/2 + )
_
1 sin(/2)
_
2

2
_
_
1 sin(2)
_
1 sin(/2 + )
_
= 2

2 (0 1) + 2

2
_
2 0
_
2

2
_
1

2
_
= 2

2 + 4 2

2 + 4 = 8
EXAMPLE: Find the length of the cardioid r = 1 cos .
9
Section 9.4 Areas and Lengths in Polar Coordinates 2010 Kiryl Tsishchanka
EXAMPLE: Find the length of the cardioid r = 1 cos .
Solution: The full length of the cardioid is given by the parameter interval 0 2, so Formula 5 gives
L =
_
2
0

r
2
+
_
dr
d
_
2
d =
_
2
0
_
(1 cos )
2
+ sin
2
d =
_
2
0
_
1 2 cos + cos
2
+ sin
2
d
=
_
2
0

2 2 cos d =
_
2
0
_
4 sin
2

2
d =
_
2
0
2

sin

2

d =
_
2
0
2 sin

2
d = 4 cos

2
_
2
0
= 4 + 4 = 8
10