Polar coordinates are a two-dimensional coordinate system that uses a distance and an angle to define a point's location. Instead of using the traditional Cartesian coordinates, which rely on horizontal and vertical distances, polar coordinates specify a point by its distance from a central point (the origin) and the angle measured from a reference direction, usually the positive x-axis. In polar coordinates, a point is represented as (r, θ), where r is the radial distance from the origin and θ is the angle in degrees or radians. This system is particularly useful in fields like mathematics, physics, and engineering, where circular and rotational motion are common.