Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Vector Geometry

(A) Parametric Equations

2
Consider the Cartesian equation y = x . This is one way to algebraically represent the parabola
(a geometric object) shown below.
y
2
y = x

Another way to represent this parabola algebraically is to use parametric equations.

A point P  x y  on a curve can be found using parametric equations

x = ft
y = g t 
where f  t  and g  t  are continuous functions of a third variable
(called a parameter) t .

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 Chapter 9

Example 1
2
(a) Show that parametric equations x = t y = t represent the parabola shown above.
2
(b) Show that parametric equations x = sin t y = sin t represent part of the parabola shown
above.

Solution
2 2
(a) Substituting t = x into y = t gives y = x .

2 2 2
(b) Substituting sin t = x into y = sin t =  sin t  gives y = x , but note that since
– 1  sin t  1 we have – 1  x  1 .

In many examples t represents time, but it may also represent other quantities, such as angle.
When the parameter t represents time we can imagine the point P  x y  on the curve moving
as time changes.

Example 2
Convert the parametric equations x = cos t y = sin t , 0  t  2 , into a Cartesian equation.
Sketch the curve, and indicate the direction of motion of P  x y  along the curve.

Solution
2 2
Substituting x = cos t y = sin t into the trigonometric identity sin t + cos t = 1 gives
2 2
x + y = 1,
the equation of circle centred at the origin with radius 1.
y
When t =   2 , When t = 0 ,
1
x = cos 0 = 1 ,
x = cos --- = 0 , y = sin 0 = 0
2

y = sin --- = 1 .
2

-1 O 1 x

-1

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 Chapter 9

Example 3
Convert the parametric equations x = 4 cos t y = 2 sin t , 0  t  2 , into a Cartesian equation.
Sketch the curve, and indicate the direction of motion of P  x y  along the curve.

Solution
x y
Rearranging x = 4 cos t y = 2 sin t we have --- = cos t --- = sin t , which we substitute into the
4 2
2 2
trigonometric identity sin t + cos t = 1 to get
2 2
 --x- +  --y- = 1
 4  2
or
2 2
x - y-----
----- + = 1,
16 4
the equation of an ellipse, with a = 4 b = 2 . Since a  b the ellipse has a horizontal orienta-
tion. The centre is at the origin, vertices at V   4 0  , and foci at F   12 0  = F   2 3 0  .
y

When t = --- x = 0 y = 2 When t = 0 x = 4 y = 0
2
2

-4 F  – 2 3 0  O 4
F  2 3 0  x

-2

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 Chapter 9

Example 4
 
Convert the parametric equations x = – sec t y = tan t , – ---  t  --- , into a Cartesian equation.
2 2
Sketch the curve, and indicate the direction of motion of P  x y  along the curve.

Solution
2 2 2 2
Squaring x = – sec t y = tan t gives sec t = x and tan t = y , which we substitute into the
2 2
trigonometric identity sec t = tan t + 1 to get
2 2
x = y +1
or
2 2
x----- y-----
– = 1,
1 1
2
the equation of a hyperbola, with a = b = 1 . Since x has the positive coefficient the hyper-
bola has a horizontal orientation. The centre is at the origin, vertices at V   1 0  , foci at
F   2 0  , and asymptotes are given by y =  x .
y = –x y

When t = --- x = – 2 y = 1
4

When t = 0 x = – 1 y = 0

F  – 2 0  -1 O x

y = x

 
Note that only the left branch is included in our sketch since x = – sec t  0 for – ---  t  --- .
2 2

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 Chapter 9

(B) Position Vector

Recall from Chapter 7 that a position vector of a point P  x y  is OP = xi + yj .

˜ ˜
A position vector begins at the origin, O , and ends at the point P  x y  .

If P  x y  is a point on a curve defined by parametric equations x = f  t  and y = g  t  , and if

we denote position vector by r (that is, we let OP = r ), then we have
˜ ˜
r  t  = xi + yj
˜ ˜ ˜
= f  t i + g  t j
˜ ˜
as the position vector of a point P  x y  on the curve.

Example 5
Consider the parametric equations x = 2t y = 12 – 4t .
(a) Convert the parametric equations into a Cartesian equation.
(b) Sketch the curve.
(c) Write down the position vector of a point P  x y  on the curve.
(d) Include the vectors r  0  r  1  r  2  r  3  r  4  in your sketch, and hence indicate which di-
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
rection a point P  x y  moves along the curve.

Solution
x
(a) Rearranging x = 2t to get t = --- and substituting into y = 12 – 4t gives
2
x
y = 12 – 4  --- = 12 – 2x .
 2
(b)
y = 12 – 2x y

12

6
O x

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 Chapter 9

(c) r  t  = x  t i + y  t j = 2ti +  12 – 4t j
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜

(d) r  0  = 12j , r  1  = 2i + 8j , r  2  = 4i + 4j , r  3  = 6i , r  4  = 8i – 4j , and are in-

˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
cluded in the sketch below.
y
y = 12 – 2x
12

r0
˜

r1
˜
r2
˜

6
O r3 x
˜

r4
˜

Note that the direction of motion along the line, indicated by the arrow, is in a downwards di-
rection.

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 Chapter 9

Example 6
2
A point P  x y  moves according to r  t  = 2ti +  4t – t j , where t is time, and so t  0 . In
˜ ˜ ˜
this example, we use standard units for distance and time, which are metres and seconds, respec-
tively.
(a) Write down the parametric equations for the curve P  x y  moves along.
(b) Convert the parametric equations into a Cartesian equation.
(c) Sketch the curve.
(d) Include the position vector when t = 5 s in your sketch.
(e) Hence find the point’s distance from the origin after 5 seconds.

Solution
2 2
(a) Since r  t  = 2ti +  4t – t j = x  t i + y  t j we have x = 2t y = 4t – t .
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
x 2
(b) Rearranging x = 2t to get t = --- and substituting into y = 4t – t gives
2
2
x x 2 x x
y = 4  --- –  --- = 2x – ----- = 2x  1 – ---
 2  2 4  8

(c)
y

8 x

O
(d) 4

r5
˜

Note that since t  0 , x  0 so only that part of the parabola is shown.

2 2
(e) Distance from origin = r5 = 10 +  – 5  = 125 = 5 5 .
˜

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 Chapter 9

Example 7
Consider the position vector r    = acosi + asinj , where a is a positive constant.
˜ ˜ ˜
(a) Write down parametric equations for the curve P  x y  moves along.
(b) Convert the parametric equations into a Cartesian equation.
(c) Sketch the curve.
 
(d) Include in your diagram the position vectors for  = 0 ,  = --- ,  = --- .
4 2

Solution
(a) Since r    = acosi + asinj = xi + yj we have x = acos  y = asin  .
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
x y
(b) Rearranging x = acos  y = asin  to get cos  = --- sin  = --- and substituting into the
a a
2 2
trigonometric identity sin t + cos t = 1 gives
2 2
 --x- +  --y- = 1
 a  a
or
2 2 2
x +y = a ,
the equation of a circle centred at the origin with radius a .

(c)
y
a

–a O a x

–a

 a a 
(e) r  0  = ai , r  --- = ------- i + ------- j , r  --- = aj , and are included in the sketch below.
˜ ˜ ˜ 4 2˜ 2˜ ˜ 2 ˜

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 Chapter 9

y
a


r  ---
˜ 2

r  ---
˜  4

–a O a
r0 x
˜

–a

Note that the parameter here represents the angle the position vector makes with the positive
direction of the x axis. However, this is not always the case, as illustrated in the following
example.

Example 8
The position vector r  q  = 18.09 cos  q  i + 4.56 sin  q  j gives the position of Halley’s comet
˜ ˜ ˜
relative to the centre of its orbit, and in terms of the variable q .
(a) Write down parametric equations for the orbit of Halley’s comet.
(b) Convert the parametric equations into a Cartesian equation.
(c) Sketch the path of Halley’s comet.

(d) Find the position vector of Halley’s comet when q = --- , and include in your diagram.
4
   
--
- --
(e) Show that the angle between r   and i is not .-
˜ 4 ˜ 4

Solution
(a) Since r  q  = 18.09 cos  q  i + 4.56 sin  q  j = xi + yj we have
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
x = 18.09 cos q and y = 4.56 sin q

x y
(b) Rearranging x = 18.09 cos q and y = 4.56 sin q to get cos q = ------------- sin q = ---------- and
18.09 4.56
2 2
substituting into the trigonometric identity cos q + sin q = 1 gives
x - 2  ---------
 ------------ y - 2
+
 18.09  4.56 = 1 ,

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 Chapter 9

the equation of an ellipse with a = 18.09 b = 4.56 . Since a  b the ellipse has a horizontal
orientation. The centre is at the origin, vertices at V   18.09 0  ,
2 2
and foci at F   18.09 – 4.56  0  = F   17.51 0  .

(c)

4.56

-18.09 18.09
F  – 17.5 0  O F  17.5 0  x

-4.56

 18.09 4.56
(d) r  --- = ------------- i + ---------- j , and is included in the sketch below.
˜  4 2 ˜ 2˜
y

4.56


r  ---
-18.09 ˜ 4


F  – 17.5 0  O F  17.5 0  x

-4.56

ab
(e) Using the formula cos  = ----------- ˜ ˜- to find the angle between two vectors we have
a b
˜ ˜

r  ---  i
˜  4 ˜ 18.09  2
cos  = ------------------- = --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 0.97

r  --- i
2 2
 18.09  2  +  4.56  2   1
˜ 4 ˜
  = 14.15  45

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 Chapter 9

Example 9
When comets are knocked out of their elliptical orbit around the sun, they sometimes follow
paths that are hyperbolic.
 
The position of such a comet is given by r  q  = 4 sec  q  i + 3 tan  q  j , – ---  q  --- .
˜ ˜ ˜ 2 2
(a) Write down parametric equations for the path of the comet.
(b) Convert the parametric equations into a Cartesian equation.
(c) Sketch the path of the comet.
(d) Determine the direction in which the comet moves away from the sun, and include in your
diagram. Note: The sun is at the focus.

Solution
(a) Since r  q  = 4 sec  q  i + 3 tan  q  j = xi + yj we have
˜ ˜ ˜ ˜ ˜
x = 4 sec q and y = 3 tan q

x y
(b) Rearranging x = 4 sec q and y = 3 tan q to get sec q = --- tan q = --- , and substituting into
4 3
2 2
the trigonometric identity sec q = 1 + tan q gives
2 2
 --x- = 1 +  --y-
 4  3
or
2 2
x y
------ – ----- = 1 ,
16 9
2
the equation of a hyperbola with a = 4 b = 3 . Since x has the positive coefficient the hy-
perbola has a horizontal orientation. The centre is at the origin, vertices at V   4 0  , foci at
3
F   16 + 9  = F   5 0  , and the asymptotes are given by y =  --- x .
4

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 Chapter 9

(c)
y
3
When q =   4 x = 4 2 y = 3 y = --- x
4

Sun
O 4 F  5 0  x

When q = 0 x = 4 y = 0

3
y = – --- x
4
 
Note that only the right branch is included in our sketch since x = 4 sec q  0 for – ---  q  --- .
2 2

(d) The direction of motion of the comet away from the sun is given by the arrow in the above
diagram.

Example 10
The position of Neptune can be approximated by
2t 2t
r  t  = – 30 cos  --------- i – 30 sin  --------- j ,
˜  165 ˜  165 ˜
where distances are measured in AU and time, t , in years.
(a) Write down parametric equations that approximate Neptune’s position.
(b) Convert the parametric equations to a Cartesian equation that approximates Neptune’s orbit.
(c) Sketch a curve that approximates the orbit of Neptune.
(d) Explain why r  t  is a good approximation for Neptune’s actual orbit.
˜

Solution
2t 2t
(a) Since r  t  = – 30 cos  --------- i – 30 sin  --------- j = xi + yj we have
˜  165 ˜  165 ˜ ˜ ˜
2t 2t
x = – 30 cos  --------- and y = – 30 sin  ---------
 165  165

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 Chapter 9

2t 2t
(b) Rearranging x = – 30 cos  --------- and y = – 30 sin  --------- to get
 165  165

2t x 2t y
cos  --------- = --------- sin  --------- = --------- ,
 165 – 30  165  – 30

2 2t 2 2t
and substituting into the trigonometric identity cos  --------- + sin  --------- = 1 gives
 165  165

x - 2  --------
 -------- y - 2
+ = 1
 – 30  – 30
or
2 2 2
x + y = 30 ,
the equation of a circle with centre at the origin and radius 30 AU.

(c)
y (AU)
30

Sun
-30 O 30 x (AU)

Neptune

-30

(d) The actual motion of Neptune is an ellipse, with the Sun at one focus. But since its eccen-
tricity is 0.01 (see Chapter 6) a circle is a very good approximation.

References
• A Course in Specialist Mathematics: Units 3 and 4, B.J. Lynch, L.E. Andrews, H.M Keat-
ing and W.G. Brown (Longman Cheshire 1994).
• Calculus, J. Stewart (Brooks/Cole).
• Calculus and Analytic Geometry, G.B. Thomas and R.L. Finney (Addison-Wesley 1988).
• Calculus: Concepts and Contexts (Single Variable), J. Stewart (Brooks/Cole).

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