Parametric Equations 1, Parametric Equations and Polar Coordinates, Precalculus

As an introduction to parametric equations, Sal solves the problem of finding the path of a car that drives off a 50-meter-high cliff while traveling five meters per second. He uses a pair of equations: x(t) = 10 + 5t and y(t) = 50 Ð 5t2, and he plots the points of each equation to show the usefulness of parametric equations. He continues this example in the next video.