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Parametric Equations
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What parametric equations do

What parametric equations do

Graph of the parametric curve x equals t plus 4 and y equals t squared plus 2, with vertex at (4,2), sample points for t equals -1, 0, and 2, and arrows showing direction as t increases

A parametric equation gives xxx and yyy separately in terms of a third variable, called a parameter, usually ttt or heta hetaheta. Each value of the parameter gives one point, so the curve is traced in an order as the parameter changes.

Parametric Equations Lesson

  1. A Level
  2. /Maths
  3. /Parametric Equations

Step-by-step lessons on Edexcel A Level Maths Parametric Equations, covering 8.1 Parametric Equations, 8.2 Using Trigonometric Identities, 8.3 Curve Sketching, 8.4 Points of Intersection, and 8.5 Modelling with Parametric Equations. Each one builds up to exam-style questions. Build fluency with the core pure algebra and calculus toolkit early, since almost every mechanics and statistics topic on the course depends on it.

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