Defining And Displaying Polar Graphs - Texas Instruments TI-84 PLUS - Graphing Calculator Manual Book

Defining and Displaying Polar Graphs

TI-84 Plus Graphing Mode Similarities
The steps for defining a polar graph are similar to the steps for defining a function graph. Chapter
5 assumes that you are familiar with Chapter 3: Function Graphing. Chapter 5 details aspects of
polar graphing that differ from function graphing.
Setting Polar Graphing Mode
To display the mode screen, press z. To graph polar equations, you must select Pol graphing
mode before you enter values for the window variables and before you enter polar equations.
Displaying the Polar Y= Editor
After selecting Pol graphing mode, press o to display the polar Y= editor.
In this editor, you can enter and display up to six polar equations,
terms of the independent variable q.
Selecting Graph Styles
The icons to the left of
in Pol graphing mode is ç (line), which connects plotted points. Line, è (thick), ë (path), ì (animate),
and í (dot) styles are available for polar graphing.
Defining and Editing Polar Equations
To define or edit a polar equation, follow the steps in Chapter 3 for defining a function or editing a
function. The independent variable in a polar equation is q. In Pol graphing mode, you can enter
the polar variable q in either of two ways.
Press „.
•
Press ƒ
• .
[ ]
q
Selecting and Deselecting Polar Equations
The TI-84 Plus graphs only the selected polar equations. In the Y= editor, a polar equation is
selected when the sign is highlighted. You may select any or all of the equations.
=
through represent the graph style of each polar equation. The default
r1 r6
through . Each is defined in
r1 r6
Chapter 5: Polar Graphing 98