Air University Multan Campus

Lecture 5,6
dated 24&25-02-2025
Course Title:- Multi-Variable Calculus
Class:- BS-Computer Science – Fall-23-A
Semester : Spring 25

Topic:-Equations of Lines and Planes

Cylinders and Quadric Surfaces
Instructor:- Dr.Ammara Omer Khakwani

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12.5 Equations of Lines and Planes
Equations of Lines and Planes

A line in the xy-plane is determined when a point on the line

and the direction of the line (its slope or angle of inclination)
are given . The equation of the line can then be written using
the point-slope form. (i.e Y=mX+C )

Likewise, a line L in three-dimensional space is determined

when we know a point P0(x0, y0, z0) on L and the direction of L.
In three dimensions the direction of a line is conveniently
described by a vector, so we let v be a vector parallel to L.
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Equations of Lines and Planes
Let P(x, y, z) be an arbitrary point on L and let r0 and r be
the position vectors of P0 and P (that is, they have
representations and ).

If a is the vector with representation as in Figure 1,

then the Triangle Law for vector addition gives r = r0 + a.

Figure 1 4
Equations of Lines and Planes
But, since a and v are parallel vectors, there is a scalar t
such that a = t v. Thus

which is a vector equation of L.

Each value of the parameter t gives the position vector r

of a point on L. In other words, as t varies, the line is traced
out by the tip of the vector r.
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Equations of Lines and Planes
As Figure 2 indicates, positive values of t correspond to
points on L that lie on one side of P0, whereas negative
values of t correspond to points that lie on the other side of
P0.

Figure 2

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Equations of Lines and Planes
If the vector v that gives the direction of the line L is written
in component form as v = a, b, c, then we have
t v = t a, t b, t c.

We can also write r = x, y, z and r0 = x0, y0, z0, so the

vector equation becomes

x, y, z = x0 + t a, y0 + tb, z0 + t c

Two vectors are equal if and only if corresponding

components are equal.
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Equations of Lines and Planes
Therefore we have the three scalar equations:

where t 

These equations are called

parametric equations of the line L

through the point P0(x0, y0, z0) and parallel to the

vector v = a, b, c.

Each value of the parameter t gives a point (x, y, z) on L.
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Example 1
(a) Find a vector equation and parametric equations for the
line that passes through the point (5, 1, 3) and is
parallel to the vector i + 4j – 2k.
(b) Find two other points on the line.
Solution:
(a) Here r0 = 5, 1, 3 = 5i + j + 3k and v = i + 4j – 2k, so
the vector equation becomes
r = (5i + j + 3k) + t(i + 4j – 2k)

or r = (5 + t) i + (1 + 4t) j + (3 – 2t) k
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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

Parametric equations are

x=5+t y = 1 + 4t z = 3 – 2t

(b) Choosing the parameter value t = 1 gives x = 6, y = 5,

and z = 1, so (6, 5, 1) is a point on the line.

Similarly, t = –1 gives the point (4, –3, 5).

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Equations of Lines and Planes
The vector equation and parametric equations of a line are
not unique. If we change the point or the parameter or
choose a different parallel vector, then the equations
change. For instance, if, instead of (5, 1, 3), we choose the
point (6, 5, 1) in Example 1, then the parametric equations
x=5+t y = 1 + 4t z = 3 – 2t
of the line become
x=6+t y = 5 + 4t z = 1 – 2t

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Equations of Lines and Planes
Or, if we stay with the point (5, 1, 3) but choose the parallel
vector 2i + 8j – 4k, we arrive at the equations

x = 5 + 2t y = 1 + 8t z = 3 – 4t

In general, if a vector v = a, b, c is used to describe

the direction of a line L, then the numbers a, b, and c
are called direction numbers of L.
Since any vector parallel to v could also be used, we see
that any three numbers proportional to a, b, and c could
also be used as a set of direction numbers for L.

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Equations of Lines and Planes
Another way of describing a line L is to eliminate the
parameter t from Equations 2.

If none of a, b, or c is 0, we can solve each of these

equations for t, equate the results, and obtain

These equations are called symmetric equations of L.

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Equations of Lines and Planes
Notice that the numbers a, b, and c that appear in the
denominators of Equations 3 are direction numbers of L,
that is, components of a vector parallel to L.

If one of a, b, or c is 0, we can still eliminate t. For

instance, if a = 0, we could write the equations of L as

This means that L lies in the vertical plane x = x0.

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Equations of Lines and Planes
In general, we know from Equation 1 that the vector
equation of a line through the (tip of the) vector r0 in the
direction of a vector v is r = r0 + t v.
If the line also passes through (the tip of) r1, then we can
take v = r1 – r0 and so its vector equation is
r = r0 + t(r1 – r0) = (1 – t)r0 + tr1
The line segment from r0 to r1 is given by the parameter
interval 0  t  1.

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Planes

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Planes
Although a line in space is determined by a point and a
direction, a plane in space is more difficult to describe.

A single vector parallel to a plane is not enough to convey

the “direction” of the plane, but a vector perpendicular to
the plane does completely specify its direction.

Thus a plane in space is determined by a point P0(x0, y0, z0)

in the plane and a vector n that is orthogonal to the plane.
This orthogonal vector n is called a normal vector.
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Planes
Let P(x, y, z) be an arbitrary point in the plane, and let
r0 and r be the position vectors of P0 and P.

Then the vector r – r0 is represented by (See Figure 6.)

Figure 6
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Planes
The normal vector n is orthogonal to every vector in the
given plane. In particular, n is orthogonal to r – r0 and so
we have

which can be rewritten as

Either Equation 5 or Equation 6 is called a vector equation

of the plane. 19
Planes
To obtain a scalar equation for the plane, we write
n = a, b, c, r = x, y, z, and r0 = x0, y0, z0.

Then the vector equation becomes

a, b, c • x – x0, y – y0, z – z0 = 0
or

Equation 7 is the scalar equation of the plane through

P0(x0, y0, z0) with normal vector n = a, b, c.
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Example 4
Find an equation of the plane through the point (2, 4, –1)
with normal vector n = 2, 3, 4. Find the intercepts and
sketch the plane.

Solution:
Putting a = 2, b = 3, c = 4, x0 = 2, y0 = 4, and z0 = –1 in
Equation 7, we see that an equation of the plane is
2(x – 2) + 3(y – 4) + 4(z + 1) = 0
or 2x + 3y + 4z = 12
To find the x-intercept we set y = z = 0 in this equation and
obtain x = 6. 21
Example 4 – Solution cont’d

Similarly, the y-intercept is 4 and the z-intercept is 3. This

enables us to sketch the portion of the plane that lies in the
first octant (see Figure 7).

Figure 7

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Planes
By collecting terms in Equation 7 as we did in Example 4,
we can rewrite the equation of a plane as

where d = –(ax0 + by0 + cz0).

Equation 8 is called a linear equation in x, y, and z.

Conversely, it can be shown that if a, b, and c are not all 0,
then the linear equation represents a plane with normal
vector a, b, c.

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Planes
Two planes are parallel if their normal vectors are parallel.
For instance, the planes x + 2y – 3z = 4 and
2x + 4y – 6z = 3 are parallel because their normal vectors
are n1 = 1, 2, –3 and
n2 = 2, 4, –6
and n2 = 2n1.
If two planes are not parallel,
then they intersect in a straight
line and the angle between the
two planes is defined as the
acute angle between their
Figure 9
normal vectors
(see angle  in Figure 9). 24
12.6 Cylinders and Quadric Surfaces

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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Cylinders and Quadric Surfaces
We have already looked at two special types of surfaces:
1)planes and
2) spheres.
Here we investigate two other types of surfaces:
1) cylinders and
2) quadric surfaces
In order to sketch the graph of a surface, it is useful to
determine the curves of intersection of the surface with
planes parallel to the coordinate planes.
These curves are called traces (or cross-sections) of the
surface.

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Cylinders

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Cylinders
A cylinder is a surface that consists of all lines
(called rulings) that are parallel to a given line and pass
through a given plane curve.

The surface z = x2 is a parabolic cylinder.

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Example 1 and Solution
Sketch the graph of the surface z = x2.
Solution:
Notice that the equation of the graph, z = x2, doesn’t involve y.
This means that any vertical plane with equation
y = k (parallel to the xz-plane) intersects the graph in a curve
with equation z = x2. So these vertical traces are parabolas.
Figure 1 shows how the graph is formed by taking the parabola
z = x2 in the xz-plane and moving it in the direction of the y-
axis. The graph is a surface, called
a parabolic cylinder, made
up of infinitely many shifted
copies of the same parabola.
Here the rulings of the cylinder
are parallel to the y-axis.
The surface z = x2 is a parabolic cylinder.
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Cylinders
We noticed that the variable y is missing from the equation
of the cylinder in Example 1. This is typical of a surface
whose rulings are parallel to one of the coordinate axes.
If one of the variables x, y or z is missing from the equation
of a surface, then the surface is a cylinder.
Note:
When you are dealing with surfaces, it is important to
recognize that an equation like x2 + y2 = 1 represents a
cylinder and not a circle. The trace of the cylinder
x2 + y2 = 1 in the xy-plane is the circle with equations
x2 + y2 = 1, z = 0.

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Quadric Surfaces

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Quadric Surfaces
A quadric surface is the graph of a second-degree
equation in three variables x, y, and z. The most general
such equation is

Where A,B,C,…, J are constants, but by translation and

rotation it can be brought into one of the two standard
forms

Ax2 + By2 + Cz2 + J = 0 or Ax2 + By2 + Iz = 0

Quadric surfaces are the counterparts in three dimensions

of the conic sections in the plane.
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Example 3
Use traces to sketch the quadric surface with equation

Solution:
By substituting z = 0, we find that the trace in the xy-plane
is x2 + y2 /9 = 1, which we recognize as an equation of an
ellipse. In general, the horizontal trace in the plane z = k is

which is an ellipse, provided that k2 < 4, that is, –2 < k < 2.

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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

Similarly, the vertical traces are also ellipses:

(if –1 < k < 1)

(if –3 < k < 3)

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Example 3 – Solution cont’d

Figure 4 shows how drawing some traces indicates the

shape of the surface. It’s called an ellipsoid because all of
its traces are ellipses.
Notice that it is symmetric with
respect to each coordinate plane;
this is a reflection of the fact that
its equation involves only even
powers of x, y, and z.

The ellipsoid

Figure 4
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Example 4
Use traces to sketch the surface z = 4x2 + y2.
Solution:
If we put x = 0, we get z = y2, so the yz-plane intersects the
surface in a parabola. If we put x = k (a constant), we get
z = y2 + 4k2.
This means that if we slice the graph with any plane parallel
to the yz-plane, we obtain a parabola that opens upward .
Similarly, if y = k, the trace is
z = 4x2 + k2,
which is again a parabola that opens upward.

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Example 4 – Solution cont’d

If we put z = k, we get the horizontal traces 4x2 + y2 = k,

which we recognize as a family of ellipses. Knowing the
shapes of the traces, we can sketch the graph in Figure 5.

The surface z = 4x2 + y2 is an elliptic paraboloid. Horizontal

traces are ellipses; vertical traces are parabolas.

Figure 5

Because of the elliptical and parabolic traces, the quadric

surface z = 4x2 + y2 is called an elliptic paraboloid.
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Example 5
Sketch the surface z = y2 – x2.

Solution:
The traces in the vertical planes x = k are the parabolas
z = y2 – k2, which open upward. The traces in y = k are the
parabolas z = –x2 + k2, which open downward.

The horizontal traces are y2 – x2 = k, a family of hyperbolas.

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Example 5 – Solution cont’d

We draw the families of traces in Figure 6, and we show

how the traces appear when placed in their correct planes
in Figure 7.

Traces in x = k Traces in y = k Traces in z = k

are z = y2 – k2 are z = –x2 + k2 are y2 – x2 = k

Vertical traces are parabolas; horizontal traces are

hyperbolas. All traces are labeled with the value of k.

Figure 6

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Example 5 – Solution cont’d

Traces in x = k Traces in y = k Traces in z =

k
Traces moved to their correct planes
Figure 7

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Example 5 – Solution cont’d

In Figure 8 we fit together the traces from Figure 7 to form

the surface z = y2 – x2, a hyperbolic paraboloid.

The surface z = y2 – x2 is a hyperbolic paraboloid.

Figure 8

Notice that the shape of the surface near the origin

resembles that of a saddle.
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Example 6
Sketch the surface

Solution:
The trace in any horizontal plane z = k is the ellipse

z=k

but the traces in the xz- and yz-planes are the hyperbolas

y=0 and x=0

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Example 6 – Solution cont’d

This surface is called a hyperboloid of one sheet and is

sketched in Figure 9.

Figure 9

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Quadric Surfaces
The idea of using traces to draw a surface is employed in
three-dimensional graphing software for computers.

In most such software, traces in the vertical planes x = k

and y = k are drawn for equally spaced values of k, and
parts of the graph are eliminated using hidden line removal.

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Quadric Surfaces
Table 1 shows
computer-drawn
graphs of the six
basic types of quadric
surfaces in standard
form.

All surfaces are

symmetric with respect
to the z-axis.
If a quadric surface is
symmetric about a different Graphs of quadric surfaces
axis, its equation changes Table 1
accordingly. 45
Applications of Quadric Surfaces

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Applications of Quadric Surfaces

Examples of quadric surfaces can be found in the world

around us. In fact, the world itself is a good example.
Although the earth is commonly modeled as a sphere, a
more accurate model is an ellipsoid because the earth’s
rotation has caused a flattening at the poles. Circular
paraboloids, obtained by rotating a parabola about its axis,
are used to collect and reflect light, sound, and radio and
television signals.

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Applications of Quadric Surfaces

In a radio telescope, for instance, signals from distant stars

that strike the bowl are all reflected to the receiver at the
focus and are therefore amplified. The same principle
applies to microphones and satellite dishes in the shape of
paraboloids. Cooling towers for nuclear reactors are usually
designed in the shape of hyperboloids of one sheet for
reasons of structural stability. Pairs of hyperboloids are
used to transmit rotational motion between skew axes.

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