Lecture 5 Analytic geometry of lines In two dimensions, the equation for a line in slope-intercept form is y = mx +b, and in point-slope form is y — y; = m(x— m1). In three dimensions, a line is most commonly expressed as a parametric equation. ‘Suppose that a line passes through a point with position vector rg and in a direction parallel to the vector u, Then, from the definition of vector addition, we can specify the position vector 7 for any point on the line by motut, where is a parameter that can take on any real value. This parametric equation for a line has clear physical meaning. If r is the position vector of a particle, then w is the velocity vector, and f is the time. In particular, differentiating r = r(1) with respect to time results in dr/dt =, ‘A nonparametric equation for the line can be obtained by eliminating f from the equations for the components. The component equations are Zot ust; and eliminating # results in Example: Find the parametric equation fora line that passes through the points (1,2,3) and (3,2,1). Determine the intersection point ofthe line with the 2 = 0 plane. To find a vector parallel to the direction of the line, we first compute the displacement vector between the two given points: w= (B—1i+(2—-2)5 + (1-3)h = 242k. Choosing a point on the line with position vector 7 line is given by +23 +3k, the parametric equation for the ranmtut £42 + 3k + t(2i—2k) = (1428 +27 + (3-2. The line crosses the O plane when 3 — 2 = 0, or # = 3/2, and (x, 4,2)LECTURE 5. ANALYTIC GEOMETRY OF LINES Problems for Lecture 5 1. Find the parametric equation for a line that passes through the points (1, 1,1) and (2,3,2). Deter- mine the intersection point of the line with the x = 0 plane, y = 0 plane and z = 0 plane.