Parametric Equations of a Line
Main Concept
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In order to find the vector and parametric equations of a line, you need to have either:
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two distinct points on the line
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or
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one point and a directional vector.
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A directional vector, , where , is a nonzero vector parallel to the line. The directional vector can be represented by a vector with its tail at the origin and its head at point (a , b).
In the first case, you can obtain a directional vector by subtracting the two given points.
The x and y components of vector m are called direction numbers.
Vector Parametric Equation:
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Scalar Parametric Equations:
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is the vector connecting the origin to a point .
m is the directional vector with the directional numbers .
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Click and/or drag the directional vector and a point on the line. Click the checkbox to show the resulting line.
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Vector Parametric Equation:
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Scalar Parametric Equations:
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