13.

Curves in Space
 A curve in space (or the plane):
x  f (t ), y  g (t ), z  h(t ) or in the plane:
r (t )  f (t ) j  g (t ) j
r (t )  f , g , h  fi  gj  hk
This is a vector valued function (as opposed to scalar valued)

Example: r (t )  cos(t ),sin(t), t 

Notice that x(t ) 2  y (t ) 2  1 i.e. the curve lies on a cylinder

A circular helix:
 A curve in the plane: r (t )  4 cos(2t )i  9sin(2 t) j
x2 y 2
Notice that 2  2  1 The particle travels along an ellipse
4 9

r (0)  4i = (4, 0) Travels counter clockwise

as 0  t  2 the particle goes twice around the ellipse

Trefoil knot:

r  t    2  cos  32t   cos t ,  2  cos  32t   sin  t  ,sin  32t 

For an animation go to :
http://math.bu.edu/people/paul/225/trefoil_knot.html
 For a vector valued function:
r t   f t  , g t  , h t 

Take limits, derivatives and integrals component wise:

lim r  t   lim f  t  ,lim g  t  ,lim h  t 

t a t a t a t a

r  t   f   t  , g   t  , h  t 
b b b b

 r t  dt   f t  dt ,  g t  dt ,  h t  dt
a a a a
sin  t 
Example: Let r  t   , e2t , ln 1  t  . Find lim r  t 
t t 0

sin  t 
lim r  t   lim , e0 , ln 1  1,1, 0  i  j
t 0 t 0 t
 Examples:

(a) Let r  t   sin 1 t , 1  t 2 ,ln 1  3t  . Find r  t 

1 t 3
 
1 1 1/2
r  t   , 1 t2  2t  , 1  3  , ,
1 t2 2 1  3t 1 t2 1 t2 1  3t

 t i  t 
2 2 2 2

(b) 2
t  1j  t sin  t  k dt   dt ,  t t  1dt ,  t sin  t  dt
t 2

1 1 1 1

3 2
2
t  8 1
1 t dt   3   3  3
2 7

3
1
1 1 1
2
 2 5/2 2 3/2 
t t  1dt    u  1 udu 
  u 3/2  u1/2  dt   u  u 
5 3 0
0 0
1
u  t 1 du  dt 2 2 6 10 16
    
t 1 u  0 5 3 15 15 15

t  2  u 1
2
dv  sin  t 
 t sin  t  dt u t
1
du  dt 1
v  cos  t   udv  uv   vdu

 t 1
2

2
  cos  t     cos  t  dt
 1 1 

 t
2
1 
  cos  t   2 sin  t    2 1   1 1 
  cos  2   2 sin  2     cos    2 sin   
  1      

 2   1  3
  1  0     1  0  
    

7 16 3
 
2
t i  t t  1j  t sin  t  k dt 
2
, ,
1
3 15 
Differentiation Rules:
Integration rules:
d
1. u  t   v  t   u  t   v  t   (u(t )  v(t))dt   u(t )dt   v(t )dt
dt
d
2. cu  t   cu  t   cu(t )dt  c  u(t )dt 
dt
d
3.  f  t  u  t   f   t  u  t   f  t  u  t 
dt
d
4. u  t   v  t   u  t   v  t   u  t   v  t 
dt
d
5. u  t   v  t   u  t   v  t   u  t   v  t 
dt

u  f  t    f   t  u  f  t  
d
6.
dt  
Geometry of the derivative vector :
z secant vector
P r t  h   r t 

Q
r t 

r t  h
y

z Tangent vector
x P
tangent vector
r t  h   r t 
r  t   lim
Q r t  h   r t  h 0 h
r t 
h
r t  h
y

x
The tangent line to a smooth curve at t  t0
r t   f t  , g t  , h t   f t  i  g t  j  h t  k
It passes through the point r (t0 )   f  t0  , g  t0  , h  t0   ,

and has the same direction as the tangent vector at t0

r '(t0 )  f   t0  , g   t0  , h  t0  .
So the equation of the tangent line is:
s  r(t0 )  sr '(t0 )
Or in parametric form:

x  f (t0 )  sf '(t0 ), y  g (t0 )  sg '(t0 ), z  h(t0 )  sh '(t0 )

Problem : A drunken bee travels along the path r (t )   cos(2t ),sin(2 t), t 
for 10 seconds. It then travels at constant speed in a straight line for 10
more seconds. At what point does the bee end up?

Question: What is speed and velocity?

Velocity is a vector: v(t )  r'(t) Speed is a scalar: | v(t ) |

velocity: v(t )  2sin(2t ), 2 cos(2 t),1 Speed = | v(t ) | 9  3

At time t0  10, it travels along the tangent line with speed 3 ft/sec

tangent line: s  r(t0 )  sv(t0 )

after 10 more seconds, it arrives at
r(t0 )  10 v(t0 ) 
 cos(20),sin(20),10  102sin(20), 2 cos(20),1
  cos(20)  20sin(20),sin(20)  20 cos(20), 20
 17.85, 9.07, 20 Question: What is distance traveled?