Around the Sun in a Graphing Calculator

Abstract

The topics of polar equations and parametric equations are found in almost all precalculus and calculus textbooks. They furnish important a lgebraic representations of real-world problems. For example, polar equations are used to describe the e lliptical orbit of planets around the sun (Kepler's first law), and parametric equations are frequently used to describe the trajectory of moving objects. These topics are seldom given more than superficial treatment in high school and college precalculus and calculus courses because of the difficulty of obtaining appropriate graphical representations.