Exercise · ZW-CYLINDRICAL-AND-SPHERICAL-COORDINATES-004 · ★★☆ Intermediate

The cone \(z=\sqrt{x^2+y^2}\) is written in spherical coordinates as:

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • C. \(\varphi=\pi/4\)

Explanation

With \(z=\rho\cos\varphi\) and \(\sqrt{x^2+y^2}=\rho\sin\varphi\), the equation gives \(\tan\varphi=1\), i.e. \(\varphi=\pi/4\) (a fixed angle with the \(z\)-axis). \(\theta=\pi/4\) would be a half-plane.

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Review the concept: Cylindrical and spherical coordinates

Cylindrical coordinates \((r,\theta,z)\) and spherical coordinates \((\rho,\theta,\varphi)\) locate a point in space with distances and angles, and simplify solids with rotational symmetry.

\[\begin{aligned}x&=r\cos\theta,\ y=r\sin\theta,\ z=z\\x&=\rho\sin\varphi\cos\theta,\ y=\rho\sin\varphi\sin\theta,\ z=\rho\cos\varphi\end{aligned}\]

More practice problems: cylindrical and spherical coordinates

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