Chapter – 2 Review of Coordinate System

Coordinate System

A coordinate system is a system that uses one or more numbers, or coordinates, to uniquely
determine the position of the points or other geometric elements on a manifold. It is designed
to establish position of point with respect to given reference point. The co-ordinate system
consists of one or more reference points, the style of measurement (linear or angular) from
those reference points, and the directions (or axes) in which those measurements will be
taken.

Use of Coordinate System

Coordinate system is used to describe the position of a point in a space from a fixed reference
point called origin. However in real life coordinate system has wide range of application.
Some of them are:
 Describing position of any object: coordinate system is used to find the position of
any object from its original place (called origin) to its present location.
 Location of Air Transport: We all have seen the aero-planes flying in the sky but
might have not thought of how they actually reach the correct destination. Actually all
these air traffic is managed and regulated by using coordinate geometry.
 Map Projections: It is technique to map any 3D curved object on a flat 2D surface.
This is only possible with the help of coordinate system.
 The Global Positioning System (GPS): GPS is a space based satellite navigation
system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions. In a
GPS, the longitude and latitude of a place are its coordinates. The distance formula is
used to find the distance between two places in a GPS.

A good understanding of coordinate system can be very useful in solving problems in Applied
Mechanics. A concept of coordinate system is directly applicable to find distances, slopes and
other simple trigonometric calculations in engineering.

Types of Coordinate System

1. Cartesian or Rectangular Coordinate System

2. Polar Coordinate System
3. Cylindrical Coordinate System
4. Spherical Coordinate System

1. Cartesian or Rectangular coordinate system:

Cartesian coordinate system in two dimensions

A Cartesian coordinate system is a coordinate system that specifies each point uniquely in a
plane by a set of numerical coordinates, which are the signed distances to the point from two
fixed perpendicular oriented lines, measured in the same unit of length. Each reference line is
called a coordinate axis or just axis (plural axes) of the system and the point where they meet
is its origin, at ordered pair (0, 0). The coordinates can also be defined as the positions of the
perpendicular projections of the point onto the two axes, expressed as signed distances from
the origin.

In 2D Cartesian coordinate system, horizontal axis is called x-axis or Abscissa and the
vertical axis is called the y-axis or Ordinate. The two axes divide the plane into four areas
called as quadrants that are numbered in counterclockwise direction.

Cartesian coordinate system in three dimensions

A Cartesian coordinate system for a three-dimensional space consists of an ordered triplet of

lines (axes) that go through a common point (the origin), and are pair-wise perpendicular
(any two of them being perpendicular); a single unit of length for all three axes; and an
orientation for each axis. As in the two-dimensional case, each axis becomes a number line.
The coordinates of any point P in space are obtained by drawing a line through P
perpendicular to each coordinate axis, and reading the points where these lines meet the axes
as three numbers of these number lines. The reverse construction determines the point P given
its three coordinates.
 Chapter – 6 Centroid, Centre of Gravity and Moment of Inertia

Centroid (Centre of Area):

The centroid is defined as the point where the whole area of geometrical figure is assumed to
be concentrated. It is also known as Centre of Area. It is generally denoted by C.

Centre of Gravity (Centre of Mass):

The point through which total weight of the body is assumed to act is called centre of gravity
of that body. It is also known as centre of mass. The centre of gravity of a body or an object is
usually denoted by C.G. or simply G.

 For uniform and homogenous body centroid coincides with centre of gravity.

Centroid and Centre of Gravity of Area or 2-Dimensional Body:

Analytical Method Integration Method

Centre of Gravity x́ W =∑ x W x́ W =∫ x́ el d W

ý W =∑ y W ý W =∫ ý el d W

Centroid x́ A=∑ x A x́ A=∫ x́ el d A

ý A=∑ y A ý A=∫ ý el d A