Overview

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Suppose that we are concerned with the motion of a particle as it moves in a plane. At any time [math]t[/math] during the motion, the position of the particle is given by its two coordinates, which depend on time, and may therefore be denoted by [math]x(t)[/math] and [math]y(t)[/math], respectively. The set of points traced out by the particle as it moves during a given interval of time is a curve. The function which describes the position of the particle is called a parametrization, and a curve described by such a function is said to be parametrized. In the first sections of this chapter we shall develop the mathematical theory of parametrized curves, abstracting from the picture of a physical particle in motion. Later we shall return to this application and define the notions of velocity and acceleration of such particles. Parametrized curves represent an important generalization of the curves encountered thus far as the graphs of functions. As we shall see, a parametrized curve is not necessarily the graph of an equation [math]y = f(x)[/math].

General references

Doyle, Peter G. (2008). "Crowell and Slesnick's Calculus with Analytic Geometry" (PDF). Retrieved Oct 29, 2024.