CBSE Class 11 > Class 11 Videos > Parametric Equations (Part - 1) - Math, Class 11
Parametric Equations (Part - 1) - Math, Class 11 Video Lecture
FAQs on Parametric Equations (Part - 1) - Math, Class 11
| 1. What are parametric equations? |  |
Ans. Parametric equations are a set of equations that express the coordinates of a point as functions of one or more independent variables, called parameters. Instead of representing points on a graph using a single equation, parametric equations use multiple equations to describe the x and y coordinates separately.
| 2. How are parametric equations different from Cartesian equations? | |
Ans. Parametric equations and Cartesian equations are different ways to represent curves or functions. In Cartesian equations, the coordinates of a point are expressed as a single equation involving x and y. On the other hand, parametric equations express the coordinates of a point as separate functions of one or more parameters. This allows for more flexibility and can describe curves that cannot be easily represented by a single equation.
| 3. What are the advantages of using parametric equations? | |
Ans. Parametric equations offer several advantages over Cartesian equations. Firstly, they allow for more flexibility in describing curves, as they can represent complex shapes and curves that cannot be easily expressed using a single equation. Secondly, parametric equations can provide more information about curves, such as the direction of motion or the rate of change of the curve at any point. Lastly, parametric equations are often used in physics and engineering to model real-world phenomena, as they can easily incorporate time and other variables into the equations.
| 4. How are parametric equations used in real-world applications? | |
Ans. Parametric equations have various applications in real-world scenarios. For example, in physics, parametric equations are used to describe the motion of objects in space or the trajectory of projectiles. In computer graphics, parametric equations are used to create smooth curves and shapes. They are also commonly used in engineering to model the behavior of systems, such as the motion of a pendulum or the flow of fluid in a pipe.
| 5. Are there any limitations to using parametric equations? | |
Ans. While parametric equations offer many advantages, they also have some limitations. One limitation is that parametric equations can sometimes be more complex and harder to work with than Cartesian equations, especially for beginners. Additionally, not all curves can be easily expressed using parametric equations, and converting between parametric and Cartesian forms may require additional mathematical techniques. It is also important to note that parametric equations may not always have a unique representation for a given curve, as different parameterizations may yield different results.
Text Transcript from Video
Let's say I have a cliff.
Let's make this cliff, I
don't know, let's say
it's 50 meters high.
And on this cliff,
I have a car.
And this car is not just
sitting on the cliff,
it's driving off of it.
A very dramatic problem.
So let's see, I have
this car here.
And it's driving off of this
cliff at 5 meters per second.
And I want to know, what is
the path of this car as it
falls off of the cliff?
So let's set up a little
coordinate axis here.
So let's say that this is
the y-axis right there.
And then this will
be my x-axis.
So this is y, this is x.
Let's say that this is the
point-- well, we know that this
is a 50 meter high cliff.
Maybe y equals 0 is sea level.
So this would be 50 right here.
And let's say that this point
right here on the cliff,
that's at x is equal to 10.
So this point right
here's the point 10, 50.
And let's say the car's right
at this point, right about
to drive off the cliff.
And time is equal to 0.
So this is that
time equal to 0.
So t for time.
Time is equal to zero.
So my question is, what
happens to this car as
it drives off the cliff?
So this is a bit of a physics
problem, and I won't go
deep into the physics.
And I won't prove some
of the equations.
And I encourage you to
watch the kinematics
videos, the projectile motion
videos, if you want to know
where the equations come from.
But the point here is just to
get the equations and see
what the graph looks like.
So if I want to know x as a
function of time-- a suitably
vibrant color-- so x as a
function of time is
going to be what?
Well, we're going to assume
that we're on a planet
that has no air.
We're in a vacuum.
So if we start off in the x
direction at 5 meters per
second to the right, we won't
be decelerated by air or
friction or anything else.
Newton's laws of motion:
an object in motion stays
in motion, unless it's
affected by a net force.
And there won't be any net
force in the x direction.
It's just going to keep
moving to the right at
5 meters per second.
And position, or distance,
is just equal to
velocity times time.
Our velocity is 5 times time.
And, of course, it didn't
start at x is equal to 0.
This is at time equals 0.
So it started at x
is equal to 10.
So you want to know-- it's
kind of x of 0, where it
started off, so plus 10.
And this should be a little
intuitive for you, right?
At time is equal to 0, this
term cancels out, where
x is equal to 10.
That makes sense.
At time is equal to 1, we
should be a little bit-- we'll
be 5 meters further out,
so on and so forth.
Fair enough.
That's x as a function
of the parameter time.
As you probably realize, that
this is a video on parametric
equations, not physics.
So it's nice to early on
say the word parameter.
Parameter.
And time tends to be the
parameter when people talk
about parametric equations.
Although it could be anything.
It could be radius or angle
or who knows what else?
So let's figure out what y
is as a function of time.
So y as a function of time,
it's going to be equal to
the initial y position,
or y of 0, which is 50.
We're 50 meters up in the air.
Plus our initial velocity
in the y direction.
And we don't actually have
any initial velocity
in the y direction.
The car isn't jumping,
or isn't diving.
It's just moving
horizontally to the right.
And the cliff is supporting it.
So it has no y velocity.
But if you were curious,
it would be the y
velocity times time.
But since there's no y velocity
times time, at least initially,
I'll put nothing there.
Plus the acceleration
of gravity times
time squared over 2.
We want to figure out the sine.
And just so you know, I mean,
it's nice to touch on the
physics a little bit, just so
you know where these formulas
come from and you know the
motivation behind why you would
even use a parametric equation.
Gravity goes downwards in this
example, and downwards in
this example is in the
minus y direction.
y is decreasing.
And the real-- and you know,
it's not exact-- but gravity is
normally 9.8 meters per second
squared in most textbooks.
But for the sake of simplifying
this, we'll say that it's
approximately 10 meters
per second squared.
That's how fast everything
will be accelerated
downward on this planet.
Since it has no air, let's
assume it's a planet with
a little bit more
mass than earth.
And since it's going downwards,
its direction is negative.
So in our formula up here, it's
our initial position-- we had
no velocity times time, so I
won't put that there-- minus 10
meters per second squared
times t squared over 2.
And you can watch the
projectile motion videos to
figure out how I got these
formulas right there.
But that's not the
point of this.
The point of this is to graph
what happens to the cars and
learn a little bit about
parametric equations.
So what is the path of this car
as it falls off the cliff?
Let's make a table here.
So x and y are a function of
this third parameter, t.
So we're going to set t at
different values and we're
going to figure out what
x and y are equal to.
And I'm just going to
arbitrarily pick some t's.
T is equal to 0.
T is equal to 1, 2, and 3.
At time is equal
to 0, what is x?
x of 0-- this is 0-- x
is equal to 10 meters.
At time is equal
to 1, what is x?
And this is x of 1, right?
If I wanted to write
that notation.
So 5 times 1 is 5,
plus 10 is 15.
x of 2?
5 times 2 plus 10, that's 20.
And it makes sense.
Every second we're getting 5
meters more to the right.
Or x is increasing by 5 meters.
So when t is equal to
3, 15 plus 10 is 25.
Easy enough.
The y is a little bit
more complicated.
And just to simplify this, it's
the same thing as 5, right?
10 divided by 2.
So 50 minus 5t squared.
So time is equal to 0,
this term cancels out.
We just have 50 meters
up in the air.
At time is equal to 1, 1
squared is 1 times 5, is five.
50 minus 5 is 45 five
meters in the air.
Is that right?
Right, yeah, time 1, 50.
Right.
And then at time is equal
to 2, 2 squared is 4.
4 times 5 is 20.
50 minus 20 is 30.
And then finally, at time is
equal to 3-- and I just say
finally because that's the
last number we picked--
time is equal to 3.
3 squared is 9.
9 times 5 is 45.
50 minus 45 is 5.
So let's plot these points.
So the time is equal to 0.
That's what we got right there.
At time is equal to 1,
we're at x is equal to 15.
That's roughly, you see this
is 5, 10, 15-- let me do
all of them-- 15, 20, 25.
And then the y-axis-- let me
label that while we're at
it-- this is roughly
10, 20, 30, 40, 50.
So at time is equal to
0, we're at 10, 50.
That's that point right there.
At time is equal to
1, we're at 15, 45.
So x is 15, y is 45, which
is right about there.
So this is t is equal to 1.
At time is equal to 2, or
at the coordinate 20, 30,
it's right about there.
So this is at time
is equal to 2.
And then at time is equal
to 3, we're at 25, 5.
So we're right there.
And if we kept going on,
at some point we're
going to hit the ground.
And you can figure out,
actually-- set this equal to 0
and you figure out the exact
time you hit the ground.
Actually, let's do that.
If this is equal to 0, 50,
you get t is equal to
the square root of 10.
Which is a little
over 3 seconds.
Which makes sense, right?
A little over 3 seconds, we're
going to be hitting the ground.
But anyway, what's the
path of this car?
Well, it's going to look
something like this.
Ooh, it starts getting
accelerated downwards,
and then plunk!
It hits the ground at 3
point something seconds.
Now what was interesting here
is that by setting the
parameter, not only did we
get the curve-- right?
We got this curve, which is
kind of half of a parabola,
half of a downward shaping
parabola-- and we could
actually eliminate the t,
and just get the equation
for that parabola.
And we'll do that
in future videos.
But what was interesting,
by making it a parametric
equation, we know the
direction of the car.
If you just saw this graph
without the car and everything
else I drew, you wouldn't know
which way the car was falling.
But now we know that as
t is increasing, we're
going in that direction.
So we can draw
some arrows here.
So because it's a parametric
equation, we can
draw some arrows.
And then the most important
thing is we know exactly where
the car is at any time t.
You can substitute t is equal
to 1.25 seconds and you'll know
exactly where the car is.
So you can plot these points
and you can kind of get a sense
that as time goes on, we're
getting accelerated downwards.
And that's why, for every
second further, especially
the y distance gets
further and further apart.
Anyway, I just wanted to
give you this example.
Although this was a good
physics problem, the intention
wasn't to teach you physics.
The intention is to give you
the motivation behind why
parametric equations
even exist.
These two things are
parametric equations.
We defined x and y as a
function of a third parameter,
t, instead of defining y in
terms of x or x in terms of
y like we've done every
other time since then.
And this is super useful.
I mean, you could imagine when
you have really hard physics
problems where you want to
figure out the three
dimensional position of
something, then you'll have x
as a function of t, y as a
function of t, z as
a function of t.
All sorts of interesting
problems come out of using
parametric equations,
not just in physics.
But anyway, I thought
a good place to start
is the motivation.
Because the first time I
learned parametric equations I
was like, why mess up my nice
and simple world of x's and
y's by introducing a
third parameter, t?
This is why.
Because you can figure
out the path of things.
You can figure out the
direction of something as it
moves along a curve, and you
can figure out its exact
position at any, in
this case, time.
Let's make this cliff, I
don't know, let's say
it's 50 meters high.
And on this cliff,
I have a car.
And this car is not just
sitting on the cliff,
it's driving off of it.
A very dramatic problem.
So let's see, I have
this car here.
And it's driving off of this
cliff at 5 meters per second.
And I want to know, what is
the path of this car as it
falls off of the cliff?
So let's set up a little
coordinate axis here.
So let's say that this is
the y-axis right there.
And then this will
be my x-axis.
So this is y, this is x.
Let's say that this is the
point-- well, we know that this
is a 50 meter high cliff.
Maybe y equals 0 is sea level.
So this would be 50 right here.
And let's say that this point
right here on the cliff,
that's at x is equal to 10.
So this point right
here's the point 10, 50.
And let's say the car's right
at this point, right about
to drive off the cliff.
And time is equal to 0.
So this is that
time equal to 0.
So t for time.
Time is equal to zero.
So my question is, what
happens to this car as
it drives off the cliff?
So this is a bit of a physics
problem, and I won't go
deep into the physics.
And I won't prove some
of the equations.
And I encourage you to
watch the kinematics
videos, the projectile motion
videos, if you want to know
where the equations come from.
But the point here is just to
get the equations and see
what the graph looks like.
So if I want to know x as a
function of time-- a suitably
vibrant color-- so x as a
function of time is
going to be what?
Well, we're going to assume
that we're on a planet
that has no air.
We're in a vacuum.
So if we start off in the x
direction at 5 meters per
second to the right, we won't
be decelerated by air or
friction or anything else.
Newton's laws of motion:
an object in motion stays
in motion, unless it's
affected by a net force.
And there won't be any net
force in the x direction.
It's just going to keep
moving to the right at
5 meters per second.
And position, or distance,
is just equal to
velocity times time.
Our velocity is 5 times time.
And, of course, it didn't
start at x is equal to 0.
This is at time equals 0.
So it started at x
is equal to 10.
So you want to know-- it's
kind of x of 0, where it
started off, so plus 10.
And this should be a little
intuitive for you, right?
At time is equal to 0, this
term cancels out, where
x is equal to 10.
That makes sense.
At time is equal to 1, we
should be a little bit-- we'll
be 5 meters further out,
so on and so forth.
Fair enough.
That's x as a function
of the parameter time.
As you probably realize, that
this is a video on parametric
equations, not physics.
So it's nice to early on
say the word parameter.
Parameter.
And time tends to be the
parameter when people talk
about parametric equations.
Although it could be anything.
It could be radius or angle
or who knows what else?
So let's figure out what y
is as a function of time.
So y as a function of time,
it's going to be equal to
the initial y position,
or y of 0, which is 50.
We're 50 meters up in the air.
Plus our initial velocity
in the y direction.
And we don't actually have
any initial velocity
in the y direction.
The car isn't jumping,
or isn't diving.
It's just moving
horizontally to the right.
And the cliff is supporting it.
So it has no y velocity.
But if you were curious,
it would be the y
velocity times time.
But since there's no y velocity
times time, at least initially,
I'll put nothing there.
Plus the acceleration
of gravity times
time squared over 2.
We want to figure out the sine.
And just so you know, I mean,
it's nice to touch on the
physics a little bit, just so
you know where these formulas
come from and you know the
motivation behind why you would
even use a parametric equation.
Gravity goes downwards in this
example, and downwards in
this example is in the
minus y direction.
y is decreasing.
And the real-- and you know,
it's not exact-- but gravity is
normally 9.8 meters per second
squared in most textbooks.
But for the sake of simplifying
this, we'll say that it's
approximately 10 meters
per second squared.
That's how fast everything
will be accelerated
downward on this planet.
Since it has no air, let's
assume it's a planet with
a little bit more
mass than earth.
And since it's going downwards,
its direction is negative.
So in our formula up here, it's
our initial position-- we had
no velocity times time, so I
won't put that there-- minus 10
meters per second squared
times t squared over 2.
And you can watch the
projectile motion videos to
figure out how I got these
formulas right there.
But that's not the
point of this.
The point of this is to graph
what happens to the cars and
learn a little bit about
parametric equations.
So what is the path of this car
as it falls off the cliff?
Let's make a table here.
So x and y are a function of
this third parameter, t.
So we're going to set t at
different values and we're
going to figure out what
x and y are equal to.
And I'm just going to
arbitrarily pick some t's.
T is equal to 0.
T is equal to 1, 2, and 3.
At time is equal
to 0, what is x?
x of 0-- this is 0-- x
is equal to 10 meters.
At time is equal
to 1, what is x?
And this is x of 1, right?
If I wanted to write
that notation.
So 5 times 1 is 5,
plus 10 is 15.
x of 2?
5 times 2 plus 10, that's 20.
And it makes sense.
Every second we're getting 5
meters more to the right.
Or x is increasing by 5 meters.
So when t is equal to
3, 15 plus 10 is 25.
Easy enough.
The y is a little bit
more complicated.
And just to simplify this, it's
the same thing as 5, right?
10 divided by 2.
So 50 minus 5t squared.
So time is equal to 0,
this term cancels out.
We just have 50 meters
up in the air.
At time is equal to 1, 1
squared is 1 times 5, is five.
50 minus 5 is 45 five
meters in the air.
Is that right?
Right, yeah, time 1, 50.
Right.
And then at time is equal
to 2, 2 squared is 4.
4 times 5 is 20.
50 minus 20 is 30.
And then finally, at time is
equal to 3-- and I just say
finally because that's the
last number we picked--
time is equal to 3.
3 squared is 9.
9 times 5 is 45.
50 minus 45 is 5.
So let's plot these points.
So the time is equal to 0.
That's what we got right there.
At time is equal to 1,
we're at x is equal to 15.
That's roughly, you see this
is 5, 10, 15-- let me do
all of them-- 15, 20, 25.
And then the y-axis-- let me
label that while we're at
it-- this is roughly
10, 20, 30, 40, 50.
So at time is equal to
0, we're at 10, 50.
That's that point right there.
At time is equal to
1, we're at 15, 45.
So x is 15, y is 45, which
is right about there.
So this is t is equal to 1.
At time is equal to 2, or
at the coordinate 20, 30,
it's right about there.
So this is at time
is equal to 2.
And then at time is equal
to 3, we're at 25, 5.
So we're right there.
And if we kept going on,
at some point we're
going to hit the ground.
And you can figure out,
actually-- set this equal to 0
and you figure out the exact
time you hit the ground.
Actually, let's do that.
If this is equal to 0, 50,
you get t is equal to
the square root of 10.
Which is a little
over 3 seconds.
Which makes sense, right?
A little over 3 seconds, we're
going to be hitting the ground.
But anyway, what's the
path of this car?
Well, it's going to look
something like this.
Ooh, it starts getting
accelerated downwards,
and then plunk!
It hits the ground at 3
point something seconds.
Now what was interesting here
is that by setting the
parameter, not only did we
get the curve-- right?
We got this curve, which is
kind of half of a parabola,
half of a downward shaping
parabola-- and we could
actually eliminate the t,
and just get the equation
for that parabola.
And we'll do that
in future videos.
But what was interesting,
by making it a parametric
equation, we know the
direction of the car.
If you just saw this graph
without the car and everything
else I drew, you wouldn't know
which way the car was falling.
But now we know that as
t is increasing, we're
going in that direction.
So we can draw
some arrows here.
So because it's a parametric
equation, we can
draw some arrows.
And then the most important
thing is we know exactly where
the car is at any time t.
You can substitute t is equal
to 1.25 seconds and you'll know
exactly where the car is.
So you can plot these points
and you can kind of get a sense
that as time goes on, we're
getting accelerated downwards.
And that's why, for every
second further, especially
the y distance gets
further and further apart.
Anyway, I just wanted to
give you this example.
Although this was a good
physics problem, the intention
wasn't to teach you physics.
The intention is to give you
the motivation behind why
parametric equations
even exist.
These two things are
parametric equations.
We defined x and y as a
function of a third parameter,
t, instead of defining y in
terms of x or x in terms of
y like we've done every
other time since then.
And this is super useful.
I mean, you could imagine when
you have really hard physics
problems where you want to
figure out the three
dimensional position of
something, then you'll have x
as a function of t, y as a
function of t, z as
a function of t.
All sorts of interesting
problems come out of using
parametric equations,
not just in physics.
But anyway, I thought
a good place to start
is the motivation.
Because the first time I
learned parametric equations I
was like, why mess up my nice
and simple world of x's and
y's by introducing a
third parameter, t?
This is why.
Because you can figure
out the path of things.
You can figure out the
direction of something as it
moves along a curve, and you
can figure out its exact
position at any, in
this case, time.
About this Video
Apr 19, 2026 Last updated
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