DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

MAT122 INTRODUCTORY MATHEMATICS II

WEEK 7: LECTURE NOTE

DIFFERENTIATION continued......
Plane Curves, Parametric Equations and Calculus
Plane Curves and Parametric Equations
Definition 1 (Definition of a Plane Curve). If f and g are continuous functions of
t on an interval I, then the equations
x = f (t) and y = g(t)
are parametric equations and t is the parameter. The set of points (x, y) obtained
as t varies over the interval I is the graph of the parametric equations. Taken
together, the parametric equations and the graph are a plane curve, denoted by C.
When sketching a curve represented by a set of parametric equations, you can plot
points in the xy-plane. Each set of coordinates (x, y) is determined from a value chosen
for the parameter t. By plotting the resulting points in order of increasing values of t the
curve is traced out in a specific direction. This is called the orientation of the curve.
Example 2. Sketching a Curve Sketch the curve described by the parametric equations
t
x = f (t) = t2 − 4 and y = g(t) = , where − 2 ≤ t ≤ 3.
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Solution. For values of t on the given interval, the parametric equations yield the
points (x, y) shown in the table below.
t -2 -1 0 1 2 3
x 0 -3 -4 -3 0 5
y -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
By plotting these points in order of increasing and using the continuity of f and g, we
obtain the curve given below.
2

t=1 1
t=2

t=0
−6 −4 −2 2 4

t = −1 t = −2
−1

−2
1
Sketch the arrows on the curve indicating the orientation as t increases from −2 to 3.
According to the Vertical Line Test, the graph does not define y as a function of x. This
points out one benefit of parametric equations - they can be used to represent graphs that
are more general than graphs of functions. It often happens that two different sets of
parametric equations have the same graph. For instance, the set of parametric equations
3
x = 4t2 − 4 and y = t, where −1≤t≤ .
2
has the same graph as the above. However, comparing the values, you can see that the
second graph is traced out more rapidly (considering as time) than the first graph. So, in
applications, different parametric representations can be used to represent various speeds
at which objects travel along a given path.

Eliminating the Parameter

Finding a rectangular equation that represents the graph of a set of parametric equa-
tions is called eliminating the parameter. Follow the following steps to eliminate
parameters:
STEP 1. Parametric equations
t
x = f (t) = t2 − 4 and y = g(t) = , where − 2 ≤ t ≤ 3.
2

STEP 2. Solve for t in one equation (simpler one).

t = 2y.

STEP 3. Substitute into second equation.

x = (2y)2 − 4.

STEP 4. Rectangular equation

x = 4y 2 − 4.

Once you have eliminated the parameter, you can recognize that the equation x = 4y 2 −4
represents a parabola with a horizontal axis and vertex at (-4,0) as shown in the figure
above.
The range of and implied by the parametric equations may be altered by the change
to rectangular form. In such instances, the domain of the rectangular equation must be
adjusted so that its graph matches the graph of the parametric equations.
Example 3. Adjusting the Domain
Sketch the curve represented by the equations
1 t
x= √ and y= , t > −1
t+1 t+1
by eliminating the parameter and adjusting the domain of the resulting rectangular equa-
tion.
2
Solution. Begin by solving one of the parametric equations for t. For instance, you can
solve the first equation for t as follows
1
x= √ Parametric equation for x
t+1
1
x2 = Square each side.
t+1
1
=t+1
x2
1 1 − x2
t= 2 −1 = Solve for t.
x x2
Now, substituting into the parametric equation for y produces
t
y= Parametric equation for y
t+1
1−x2
x2 1 − x2
y= 1−x2
Substitute for t.
x2
+ 1 x2
2
y =1−x Simplify.

The rectangular equation, y = 1−x2 , is defined for all values of x but from the parametric
equation for x, you can see that the curve is defined only when t > −1. This implies that
you should restrict the domain of x to positive values.

Example 4. Using Trigonometry to Eliminate a Parameter

Sketch the curve represented by

x = 3 cos θ and y = 4 sin θ, 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π

by eliminating the parameter and finding the corresponding rectangular equation.

Solution. Begin by solving for cos θ and sin θ in the given equations.
x
cos θ = Solve for cos θ
3
y
sin θ = Solve for sin θ
4
Next, make use of the identity cos2 θ + sin2 θ = 1 to form an equation involving only x
and y.

cos2 θ + sin2 θ = 1 Trigonometric identity

x y
( )2 + ( )2 = 1 Substitute.
3 4
x2 y 2
+ =1 Rectangular equation.
9 16
From this rectangular equation, you can see that the graph is an ellipse centered at (0, 0),
with vertices at (0, 4) and (0, −4) and minor axis of length 2b = 6. Note that the ellipse
is traced out counterclockwise as t varies from 0 to 2π.

3
 π
θ= 2
4

θ=π θ=0
−4 −2 2 4
−2

−4
θ = 3π
2

Finding parametric equations

We have discussed the techniques for sketching the graph of equations represented by a
set of parametric equations. We will now investigate the reverse problem. How can you
determine a set of parametric equations for a given graph or a given physical description?
The main issue here is that such a representation is not unique.
Example 5. Finding Parametric Equations for a Given Graph
Find a set of parametric equations that represents the graph of y = 1 − x2 , using each of
the following parameters.
dy
a. t b. The slope m= at the point
dx
Solution
a. Letting x = t produces the parametric equations

x=t and y = 1 − t2

b. To write x and y in terms of the parameter m, you can proceed as follows. Differ-
entiating the equation with respect to x, we have
dy 1
m= = −2x ⇒ x = − m.
dx 2
This produces a parametric equation for x. To obtain a parametric equation for y
substitute for − 21 m in the original equation.
1 1
y = 1 − x2 = 1 − (− m)2 = 1 − m2 .
2 4
So, the parametric equations are
1 1
x=− m and y = 1 − m2 .
2 4
4
 The resulting curve has a right-to-left orientation as determined by the direction
of increasing values of slope m. For part (a), the curve would have the opposite
orientation.

2
t=0 m=0
t = −1 t = 1 m = −2
1
−4 −2 m= 2
2 4

−2
t = −2 t=2
m=4 m = −4
−4

Example 6. Parametric Equations for a Cycloid

Determine the curve traced by a point on the circumference of a circle of radius a rolling
along a straight line in a plane. Such a curve is called a cycloid.

Solution. Let the parameter θ be the measure of the circle’s rotation, and let the
point P (x, y) begin at the origin. When θ = 0, P is at the origin. When θ = π, P is
at a maximum point (πa, 2a). When θ = 2π, P is back on the x−axis at (2πa, 0). The
parametric equations of the cycloid are:

x = a(θ − sin θ) and y = a(1 − cos θ).

Definition 7. Definition of a Smooth Curve.

A curve represented by x = f (t) and y = g(t) on an interval I is called smooth when f ′
and g ′ are continuous on I and not simultaneously 0, except possibly at the endpoints of
I. The curve is called piecewise smooth when it is smooth on each subinterval of some
partition of I.

Parametric Equations and Calculus

Theorem 8 (Parametric Form of the Derivative). If a smooth curve C is given by
the equations
x = f (t) and y = g(t),
then the slope of C at (x, y) is

dy dy/dt g ′ (t) dx
= = ′ , 6= 0.
dx dx/dt f (t) dt
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 dy
Example 9. Find dx for the curve given by x = sin t and y = cos t.
dy dy/dt sin t
Solution. dx = dx/dt = −cos t
= − tan t.
dy
Because dx
is a function of t, we can find higher-order derivatives.
d
d2 y d dy dt
[dy/dx]
= [ ]=
dx 2 dx dx dx/dt
3 2 d d2 y
d y d dy [ ]
dt dx2
= [ ]=
dx3 dx dx2 dx/dt
Example 10. For the curve given by
√ 1
x= t and y = [t2 − 4], t≥0
4
find the slope at the point (2, 3).
Solution. Differentiating we get
dy dy/dt t/2 3
= = √ = t2.
dx dx/dt 1/2 t
At (x, y) = (2, 3), it follows that t = 4 and the slope is
dy 3
= 4 2 = 8.
dx
Because the parametric equations x = f (t) and y = g(t) need not define y as a
function of x it is possible for a plane curve to loop around and cross itself. At such
points, the curve may have more than one tangent line.
Example 11. The prolate cycloid is given by
x = 2t − π sin t and y = 2 − π cos t.
Show that the prolate cycloid crosses itself at the point (0, 2). Find the equations of both
tangent lines at this point.
Solution. Note that at the two values t = π2 and t = − π2 , x = 0 and y = 2. Therefore,
the point (0, 2) on the prolate cycloid is crossed when t = π2 and t = − π2 .
Moreover, differentiating gives
dy dy/dt π sin t
= = .
dx dx/dt 2 − π cos t
dy dy
Thus, we have dx
= − π2 when t = − π2 , and dx
= π
2
when t = π2 . So, the two tangent lines
at (0, 2) are
π π
y−2 =− x Tangent line when t=−
2 2
π π
y−2 = x Tangent line when t=
2 2
Remark 12.
1. If dy
dt
= 0 and dxdt
6= 0 when t = t0 , then the curve represented by x = f (t) and
y = g(t) has a horizontal tangent at (f (t0 ), g(t0)).
2. If dy
dt
6= 0 and dx
dt
= 0 when t = t0 , then the curve represented by x = f (t) and
y = g(t) has a vertical tangent at (f (t0 ), g(t0)).
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