The Brachistochrone Problem: the path of

the shortest time

Dhiman Roy

HL Mathematics

Ms. Rana

“The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God.” - Euclid
Table of Contents
1 Introduction:...................................................................................................................3
2 Experiment:.....................................................................................................................4
2.1 Procedure:..............................................................................................................................4
2.2 Linear Path:............................................................................................................................5
2.3 Cycloid Path:...........................................................................................................................6
3 Understanding Parametric Equations and Cycloids:.........................................................6
4 Solving the Brachistochrone Problem:.............................................................................8
5 Finding the travel time:.................................................................................................13
5.1 Brachistochrone Path:..........................................................................................................13
5.2 Linear Path:..........................................................................................................................16
6 Conclusion:....................................................................................................................18
6.1 Analysis:...............................................................................................................................18
6.2 Limitations:...........................................................................................................................18
6.3 Strengths:.............................................................................................................................18
6.4 Improvements and extensions:.............................................................................................18
6.5 Conclusion:...........................................................................................................................19
7 Bibliography:.................................................................................................................19
1 Introduction:
Isaac Newton is arguably the most brilliant man to walk on this planet, and he himself
believed so too. However, Newton’s arrogance was not baseless, as his contributions in the
field of mathematics and physics were tantamount. His invention of calculus and discovery of
the laws of gravity and motion was no ordinary feat.

When Johann Bernoulli posed the brachistochrone problem to Newton, he solved it in one
night, mailed it anonymously and left a note with the solution, saying he does not like the be
pestered about mathematical things by foreigners.

The brachistochrone problem questions which path an initially stationary object should take
to reach from point A to point B, where point B is lower than point A, for the fastest descent
while only relying on gravity as a means of acceleration. The brachistochrone problem has
many applications in the real world – the path of shortest possible time a skier or glider
should take to get from point A to point B, or as a means to design a roller coaster.

When I first came upon this question of fastest possible descent, I stated what seemed almost
obvious: “a straight path between the two points”. However, I could not have been more
incorrect. Therefore, the focus of this investigation is to find the brachistochrone curve,
through an experiment, and the analysis of the results.

The question in: what is the path of least time, and how long will the time travelled be?

The experiment will be carried out to show that the brachistochrone curve, or the curve of
shortest time, is the fastest path an object can take. This will be accomplished using calculus
and Snell’s Law and Fermat’s Principle from physics, that describes the path taken by light in
different mediums. The experiment carried out will prove that the cycloidal curve is in fact
faster than the linear path.

However, since the effect of friction will slow down the object travelling across the path, I
will also use calculus to predict the time that the object will take to move from a point A to
point B, in the absence of friction.
2 Experiment:
2.1 Procedure:

1. A cardboard was cutout to make 2 pathways, for a table tennis ball, of width 1.5 cm and
the distance between the end point B and the starting point (A) of 50 cm, as shown in picture
1. If Point A, the starting point is considered as (0,0), then the co-ordinates for point B are
approximately (30, -40) in cm, as shown in figure (2).

figure (2)

2. A camera was positioned perpendicular to the paths, 2 meters away and a ruler was
used as a reference for the distance the ball travelled while a stopwatch was used as a
reference to time, as shown in figure (3).

3. A video was recorded of the ball rolling down the 2 paths with a stopwatch besides the
paths. A scientific program called LoggerPro was used to analyze the movement of the ball.
The center of the ball was mapped out for each frame since the ball was dropped. A origin
was laid out and the points the ball travelled were mapped out relative to the origin (the 2
yellow lines intersection).

figure (1)

figure (3)
Results:
The graphs in figure (4) and figure (5) show the displacement of the center of the ball as a
function of time. A quadratic function was used to model the points between the respective
domains and ranges. The total x-axis displacement should be approximately 0.4 meters and
the y-axis displacement should be -0.3 meters. The ball took approximately 0.433 and 0.534
seconds to reach point B from point A using the cycloidal and linear path respectively.
Figure (4) and figure (5) below are used to model the x and y displacement.

2.2 Linear Path:

figure (4)

The functions for the x and y displacements are:

(2.2.1) x ( t )=29.4−12.66 t +1.363 t 2 , { 4.668 ≤t ≤5.202 }

(2.2.2) y ( t ) =−21.85+9.403 t−1.012t 2 , { 4.668 ≤t ≤ 5.202 }

Where t=4.668 is when the ball is released at point A and t=5.202 is when the ball reaches
point B. To change the equations, so that the ball is released at t=0, we can substitute all the
t with ( t+ 4.668 ) . This will give us the equations:

(2.2.3) s x ( t )=1.363 t 2 +0.064968 t+ 0.003195 , {0 ≤ t ≤ 0.534 }

(2.2.4) s y ( t ) =−1.012t 2−0.045032 t−0.008503 , { 0 ≤t ≤ 0.534 }

Where s x and s y is the displacement in the x and y axis respectively.

2.3 Cycloid Path:

figure (5)

The functions for the x and y displacements are:

(2.3.1) x ( t )=25.42−15.77 t+2.446 t 2 , {3.217 ≤ t ≤ 3.650 }

(2.3.2) y ( t ) =−430.8+381.2 t−112.1 t 2+10.96 t 3 , {3.217 ≤ t ≤ 3.650 }

Similar to the linear displacement function, we can substitute t with ( t+ 3.217 ) to get:

(2.3.3) s x ( t )=2.446 t 2−0.032436 t+ 0.001782, { 0 ≤t ≤0.433 }

(2.3.4) s y ( t ) =10.96 t 3−6.32504 t 2 +0.226646 t +0.279015 , { 0≤ t ≤ 0.433 }

However, a time taken to move from point A to point B, was very similar between the 2
paths, possibly due to friction. Therefore, I wanted to calculate what is the theoretical time
that will be taken by the table tennis ball from point A to point B if there was no friction or
air resistance present. To do this we must first understand what a cycloid is and prove that a
cycloidal curve is the path of fastest time.

3 Understanding Parametric Equations and Cycloids:

To analyze the 2 curves, we first need to understand what parametric 1 equations are.
Parametric equations are used to define more complex curves such as a circle or cycloid.
Since it is difficult to define a circular function in terms of either variable x or y in a
1
Paul’s Online Notes: https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/classes/calcii/parametriceqn.aspx
Cartesian plane, we can use parametric functions to define variables x and y in terms of a
third variable called the parameter. The equation for a circle can be written as:

(3.0.1) x 2+ y 2=r 2

However, if written in the parametric form, we can use 2 equations to define the function of a
circle, where both x and y are a function of θ. This can be written as:

(3.0.2) x=x (θ )=r cos θ and y= y ( θ ) =r sinθ

figure (6) figure (7)

A cycloid2 is a curve that is traced by a point P on the circumference of the circle, when
rolling (without slipping) along a line3, as shown in figure (7).By rolling the circle on the x-

2
Cycloid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycloid
3
The Cycloid: http://mathonline.wikidot.com/the-cycloid
axis at an angle t, under the no-slip conditions, from the bottom on the circle in contact with
the x-axis, we can change the parametric equations for point P to:

(3.0.3) x ( t )=−r sin t and y ( t ) =r cos t

If the circle rolls towards the positive side of the x-axis, the x-coordinates of the center of the
circle can be given by the distance travelled using the arc length equation:

(3.0.4) x=rt

Where r is the radius and t is the radians the circle has travelled. Since we know the distance
travelled by the center of the circle in equation (3.0.4) and the x-coordinates of point P
relative to the center of the circle in equation (3.0.3), we can calculate the x values of the
cycloidal curve by:

(3.0.5) x ( t )=rt +(−r sin t)=r ¿

Similarly, the y-coordinate of the center of the circle will always be equal to:

(3.0.6) y=r

The y-coordinate of point P relative to the center of the circle is given by equation (3.0.6),
therefore, the y values are:

(3.0.7) y ( t ) =r−cos t=r (1−cos ¿t)¿

Equations (3.0.5) and (3.0.7) are the 2 parametric equations for the cycloidal curve.

4 Solving the Brachistochrone Problem:

Snell’s Law4 states that the ratio of the sine of the angles of incidence and refraction of light
are equal to the refractive index of a material:

(4.0.1) n1 sin θ1=n 2 sin θ2

Where n1 and n2 are the refractive index of the medium and θ1 and θ2 are the angles of
incidence and refraction with respect to the normal, the like perpendicular to the medium. As
light enters from one medium, such as air or a vacuum, to another denser medium, such as
water or glass, the speed of light slows down causing light to travel at a different angle. The
refractive index is calculated by:

c0
(4.0.2) n1 =
c1

4
The Law of Refraction: https://www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/courses/m309-01a/chu/Fundamentals/snell.htm
Where n1 is the refractive index of the first medium, c 0 is the speed of light in a vacuum and
c 1 is the speed of light in medium 1. This can be seen in figure 8, where light enters water
from air. The refractive index of air is approximately 1 while the refractive index of water is
1.3.

normal

figure 8
figure

Since Light travels slower water than air, the

angle of refraction (θ2) is smaller than the
angle of incidence (θ1). Furthermore, Fermat’s
principle5 tells us that a wave takes the path
that requires the least amount of time.
Therefore, if an object takes the path of least
time, it can be said to follow Fermat’s
principle while following a curved path made
of infinite straight lines, following Snell’s Law Figure 9
as shown in figure 9, where each medium is
less dense than the previous.

Therefore, by using Snell’s law, and substituting equation (4.0.2) into equation (4.0.1), we
can write that:

c 0 sin θ1 c 0 sinθ 2 c 0 sin θ3 c 0 sin θn

(4.0.3) = = =…=
c1 c2 c3 cn

By dividing the equation by c 0, we can rewrite the equation as:

sin θ1 sin θ2 sin θ3 sin θ n

(4.0.4) = = =…=
c1 c2 c3 cn

sin θi sin θ n
(4.0.5) =
ci cn

This tells us the ratio between the angle of incidence and the speed of light is equal in all
mediums, 1 to n. As seen in figure 9, as the object passes through the mediums, the angle of
incidence increases. Since the angle of incidence with respect to the normal has to be in the

5
Fermat’s Principle: http://electron9.phys.utk.edu/optics421/modules/m1/Fermat's%20principle.htm
 π π
domain [0 , ¿, the angle of incidence will approach radians if the object passes infinitely
2 2
many mediums.

π
(4.0.6) lim (¿ θ n)= ¿
n→∞ 2

Therefore, we can simplify equation (4.0.4) to:

π
sin
(4.0.7) sin θi sin θ n 2 1
= = =
ci cn cn cn

ci
(4.0.8) sin θi=
cn

Equation (4.0.8) tells the incidence angle,θi , in every medium i that it goes through. An object
is to roll down from point A to point B, with no friction present and gravity as its only means
of acceleration. If we assume that no energy is lost due to the law of conservation of energy 6
and the system consists of only 2 types of energy (kinetic and gravitational potential energy),
we can write that:

(4.0.9) Einitial =Efinal

Where E is energy. The equation of kinetic and gravitational potential energy is:

1
(4.0.10) KE= m v 2
2

(4.0.11) GPE=mgh

Where KE is kinetic energy, GPE is gravitational potential energy, m is mass, g is

acceleration caused by earth’s gravity, y is the height on the Cartesian plain and v is velocity.
Therefore, we can write the energy at point A and point B as:

1 1
(4.0.12) m v 2a +mg y a= m v 2b +mg y b
2 2

Since the object is initially stationary, we can equate the initial kinetic energy to 0 joules and
divide the mass on the left- hand and right-hand sides.

1
(4.0.13) g y a= v 2b+ g y b
2

1 2
(4.0.14) v =g y a−g y b=g ( y a − y b )
2 a

6
Law of conservation of energy: https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Law_of_conservation_of_energy
(4.0.15) v b= √ 2 g ( y a − y b )

Where h a is the initial height and h b is the height at the point b , where we are trying to
calculate the instantaneous velocity. Therefore, we can calculate the velocity at any pointi
through:

(4.0.15) vi =√ 2 g ( y a− y i )

By substituting the velocity v into the speed of light c from equation (4.0.15) into equation
(4.0.8), we get:

(4.0.16) sin θi=

√2 g ( y − y ) = √( y − y )
a i a i

√ 2 g ( y − y ) √( y − y )
a n a n

To simplify equation (4.0.16), we can assume the initial point A to be at the origin (0,0). If
the initial height is 0, the final height must be less than 0 as gravity is the only force acting on
the object, causing it to accelerate downwards.

(4.0.17) y a=0

(4.0.18) y i < y a , ∀ i=Z +¿¿

+ ¿¿

y i ∈Z −¿, ∀ i=Z ¿
(4.0.19)

(4.0.20) − y i=f ( x ) = y

Wheref ( x )= y, as (− y ¿¿ i)¿ is the y co-ordinate of the object at a certain point i.

Therefore, equation (4.0.16) can be rewritten as:

(4.0.21) sin θi=

√ (− y ) = √ y
i

√ (− y ) √r
n

Where (− y n ) , the vertical displacement at the end of the curve (Point B), is written as r.

Let us imagine a medium i (figure 10), where θi is the angle of refraction, ds is the total
displacement, dx is the displacement in the x-direction and dy is the displacement in the y-
direction.

θi
ds Medium i
dy
figure 10
dx
Through Pythagoras’s Theorem, we know that:

(4.0.22) ds=√ dx 2 +dy 2

Therefore, we can say that :

dx dx y
(4.0.23) sin θi= = =√
ds √ dx + dy √r
2 2

y
(4.0.24) dx= √ × √ dx 2 +dy 2
√r
2
y y
dx = √ × √ dx 2+ dy 2 = × ( dx 2+ dy 2 )
(4.0.25)
2

√r ( r )
We can rewrite this equation as:

(4.0.26) (1− yr ) dx = ry dy
2 2

(4.0.27) dx 2= ( ry )÷ ( r −r y ) ×dy = r −y y dy
2 2

y
(4.0.28) dx=
√ r− y
dy

dx y
(4.0.28)
dy
=
√
r−y

Using figure 10, we can say that:

dx y
(4.0.29) tan ( θ i )=
dy
=
√
r− y

Therefore,

sin2 θi y
(4.0.30) 2
=
cos θi r− y

(4.0.31) r sin 2 θi− y sin2 θi= y cos2 θi

(4.0.32) y¿

(4.0.33) y=r ¿

This can be written as,

 r
(4.0.34) ¿
2

Therefore:

r
y= ( 1−cos 2 θi )
2

From equation (4.0.29) and the derivative of parametric equation above, we can calculate:

dx dx dy
(4.0.35) = ×
dθ dy dθ

dy
(4.0.36) =r sin 2θ=2 r sin θ cosθ
dθ

By substituting equations (4.0.36) and (4.0.29) into equation (4.0.35), we can write:

dx y sin2 θ
(4.0.37)
dθ
=
√
r− y
× 2r sin θ cosθ=
√
cos2 θ
×2 r sin θ cosθ

sinθ
¿ ×2 r sin θ cosθ=2 r sin 2 θ
cosθ

Similar to equation (4.0.34), we can rewrite equation (4.0.37) as:

dx
(4.0.38) =2 r sin 2 θ=r ( 1−cos 2 θ ) x=r ( 1−cos 2θ ) dθ
dθ

(4.0.39) x=∫ dx=∫ r ( 1−cos 2 θ ) dθ

rsin 2θ
∫ r −r ( cos 2 θ ) dθ=rθ− 2

Therefore, the parametric formula for the path should be the following:

r r
(4.0.40) x= ( θ−sin 2θ ) , y= (1−cos 2 θi )
2 2

Where r is the radius and θ is the angle in radians with respect to the x axis. Surprisingly
enough, these are the same as equations (3.0.5) and (3.0.7) in the earlier section of
understanding the cycloid.

5 Finding the travel time:

5.1 Brachistochrone Path:
Since we now know the parametric equations of a brachistochrone curve, as have proved that
the cycloidal curve is indeed the path of shortest time, let us use it to find the theoretical time
taken for the table tennis ball to move from point A to point B in the presence of no friction.

Let us use the energy equation (4.0.10) and (4.0.11) again. Due to the law of conservation of
energy, we know that the initial energy and the final energy must be equal, as shown in
equation(4.0.9). Since the object starts from instantaneous rest, the kinetic energy is 0
initially. If we assume that all the gravitational potential energy the ball initially had is
converted into kinetic energy, we can write that:

1
(5.1.1) myh= m v 2
2

1
(5.1.2) yh= v 2
2

If we rewrite equation (5.1.2) to make velocity v the subject of the formula, we can write:

ds
(5.1.3) v=√ 2 gy=
dt

Now we must make time t the subject of the equation, since that is what we are trying to find.

ds ds
(5.1.4) dt= =
v √ 2 gy

(5.1.5) T =∫ dt

Where T is time taken to travel, and dt is a small change in the variable t in the parametric
equation for the cycloid curve. Using equation (4.0.22), we can rewrite this equation and
rearrange the terms:

dy 2 dy 2
(5.1.6)
dt=
√ dx 2+ dy 2 =
√ 2 gy
√ (
dx 2 1+

√ 2 gy
dx 2
=
) √( 1+
dx2
√2 gy
) dx

By integrating both sides, we can get the equation for time:

dy 2 dy 2
(5.1.7)
xb

∫ dt=∫
xa
xb

xa
√( 1+
dx 2
√ 2 gy
dx=
)1
∫
x

√2 g x
b

a
√( 1+
dx 2
√y
)
dx

Where x aand x bare the x coordinated for starting point A and end point B respectively.
Now we need the differential equations of the parametric cycloid equations (3.0.5) and
(3.0.7).
 dx
(5.1.8) =r (1−cos t)
dt

dy
(5.1.9) =r sin t , dy=r sin t dt
dt

dy dy dt 1 sin t
(5.1.10) = × =( r sin t ) =
dx dt dx r ( 1−cos t ) 1−cos t

If we square both sides, and write the derivate in terms of cos t we get:

dy 2 sin 2 t
(5.1.11) = =¿ ¿
dx 2 (1−cos t )2

By rewriting equation (3.0.5), we can write cos t in terms of y.

y
(5.1.12) cos t=1−
r

By substituting equation (5.1.12) into equation (5.1.11),

y
2 1+1−
(5.1.13) dy r
=
dx 2
1−¿ ¿

Substituting equation (5.1.13) into equation (5.1.6) results in:

(5.1.14)
T=
1
∫
√2 g x
xb

a
√ (√1+
2r − y

√y
y
×
)
y
2r − y
dy =
1
√
x

∫
2r
y
√2 g x √ y
×
b
y
2 r− y
a
√ √
dy

xb xb
1 2r 1 1 2r
¿ ∫ ×
√
√2 g x y √ 2 r− y
a
dy= ∫
√ 2 g x y ( 2r − y )a
dy
√
If we substitute y with the parametric equation of a cycloid, we get:
xb xb
1 2r 1 2r
(5.1.15) T= ∫ √
√ 2 g x y ( 2 r− y )
a
dy= ∫ √
√ 2 g x r ( 1−cost ) (2 r−r ( 1−cost ))
a
dy

xb xb
1 2r 1 2r
¿ ∫ √
√2 g x ( r−rcost ) (r +rcost )
a
dy= ∫
√2 g x r −r 2 cos2 t
2
dy
a
√
 xb xb
1 2r 1 √ 2r dy
¿ ∫ 2
√
√2 g x r sin t
a
dy= ∫
√ 2 g x r sin t
a

Substituting equation (5.1.9) into equation (5.1.15),

(5.1.16)
1 2r 1
T= ∫ t( x ¿¿ b) √ r sin t dt =¿ ∫ t(x ¿¿ b) √ 2r dt ¿¿ ¿
√ 2 g t (x ¿¿ a)¿ r sin t √2 g t ( x¿¿a)¿

If we allow x a=0 and t (x¿ ¿ a)=0 ¿, then we can simplify the equation to:

t √r
(5.1.17) T=
√g
Where t and r are the time and radius variables for the parametric equation of the cycloid
curve and g is the acceleration caused by gravity. Using this equation, we can calculate the
theoretical time that the table tennis ball should have taken down the cardboard path.

Using the measurements of the cardboard slope earlier, the brachistochrone, curve must pass
through points A(0,0) and B(0.4,-0.3) (units in meters). Since point B has negative y
coordinates, we can graph the cycloid with a positive y coordinate and reflect it across the x-
axis. Therefore, the parametric equations are:

(5.1.18) 0.4=r ¿

Now we have simultaneous equations, which we will solve by equating r in terms of t.

0.4 0.3
(5.1.19) r= =
t−sin t 1−cos t

(5.1.20) 0.4−0.4 cos t=0.3 t−0.3 sin t

figure 11

Using a graphing calculator, we know that t=0 , 2.88. Now we can solve for r,

0.3
(5.1.21) r= =0.153
1−cos 2.88
Now we can plot the brachistochrone curve:

figure 11

Using our equation for the travel time (equation (5.1.17)), we can calculate:

2.88 √ 0.153
(5.1.21) T= =0.360 seconds.
√ 9.81
Therefore, we can conclude that the ball would be 0.073 seconds faster in the absence of
friction.

5.2 Linear Path:

Similarly, we can estimate the time the ball would take to travel the linear path using simple
kinematics. Let us use and model the linear cardboard path (not to scale):

A( 0,0) Ball

θ
Overall acceleration
figure 12
gravity

B(0.4 ,−0.3)
 Since we know that:

0.4
(5.2.1) sin θ=
√ 0.4 2+ 0.32
(5.2.2) θ=0.927 rad

Furthermore, we know that the overall acceleration is caused by the summation of all the
forces acting on the ball. Since, we assume there if no friction, gravity and the normal force
are the only forces acting on the ball, where gravity in acceleration towards the center of the
earth. We can redraw the forces by using the components of gravity 7 that are parallel and
perpendicular to the slope. The forces are as follows (not drawn to scale):

0.927 rad = 53.1 degrees

Ball

Slope Gravity Parallel

Total gravity
=9.81 m/s2
Gravity Perpendicular
Gravity perpendicular Gravity Parallel = acceleration

figure 14
figure 13 Total Gravity

Therefore, using simple trigonometry, we know that:

(5.2.3) a=TG× sin ( 90−53.1 )

Where a is the acceleration and TG is the total gravity. Therefore, we know that acceleration
is 5.89 m/s2. The equation for time taken in physics is as follows:

1
(5.2.4) s=ut+ a T 2
2

Where u is the initial velocity (which equals to 0 as the ball is initially stationary), s is the
distance travelled from point A to point B and T is the time taken for the ball to reach point B
from point A. If we make T the subject of the equation we can write:

2s 2(0.5)
(5.2.5) T=
√ √
a
=
5.89
=0.412 seconds

Time taken to move from Linear Path Brachistochrone Path

7
Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/science/high-school-physics/two-dimensional-motion-
2/inclined-planes/v/inclined-plane-force-components
 point A to point B
Theoretical (absence of
0.412 0.360
friction) (seconds)
Actual (presence of friction)
0.534 0.433
(seconds)
Difference in actual and
0.122 0.073
theoretical (seconds)
Percent difference between the
theoretical and actual time (%)
theoritical−actual 22.9% 16.9%
( ×100 ¿
actual

6 Conclusion:
6.1 Analysis:

Interestingly, the brachistochrone curve is the path of shortest time, both, in the absence and
presence of friction. However, what I found even more surprising is the fact that the degree to
which friction slowed down the ball on the brachistochrone curve was smaller than the degree
to which friction slowed down the ball on the linear path. I would have believed that friction
would slow down the ball on the brachistochrone curve to a greater extent than the linear
path, as the ball is travelling a longer distance (linear path is the shortest distance) and at a
higher speed (since the ball reaches point B first). In physics, it is known that the faster an
object travels, the greater the effects of air resistance. For some reason, that does not seem to
be the case for this experiment.

However, it is extremely explicit that the brachistochrone is faster, and the time taken to
complete the path is solvable using the differential equations for a cycloid.

6.2 Limitations:

The degree to which the cycloidal cardboard curve is accurate is unknown as cardboard is
difficult to cut and may leave some uneven edges which will slow the ball down. I should
have conducted the experiment not only with different balls, but also a greater variety of
curves. However, the time constraints only allowed me time to cut out 2 cardboard paths.

In addition, the ball may not have been in contact with the paths the whole time as it may
have bounced. This might have drastically slowed down the ball to an unknown degree. The
final coordinates of the ball at point B where not exactly (0.4, -0.3) and this may have been
the effect of the ball bouncing slightly on the path. Nonetheless, the experiment has many
strengths which are discussed in the next section.

6.3 Strengths:

It is impossible to completely remove friction as a variable, in any experiment, however, I do

believe friction played a very small role in mine. The surface of the table tennis ball and the
cardboard is more or less extremely smooth, and the fact the ball rolls, should decreases the
friction. The small size of the table tennis was also a strength as the air resistance would be
larger on larger balls (such as a tennis ball).

Furthermore, since I used a scientific program (LoggerPro) the data was considerable
accurate, with 4 significant figures. The data points had a correlation of greater than 0.9987
(which was the lowest) with the function. This allowed me to have high confidence in my
data.

6.4 Improvements and extensions:

To further improve the accuracy of my data, I would use a plastic to make the path, as the
smooth surface, even curves, and malleable material may yield better data. Furthermore,
using marbles or smaller balls instead of table tennis balls may also yield better data, as
smaller surface area will cause the air resistance to be proportionally smaller, allowing a
faster time of descent.

This topic also has many extensions as the brachistochrone curve has many surprising
properties, such as a property called isochronism. Isochronism means that no matter where
the ball is left on the curve, it will reach the bottom of the curve at the same time.
Furthermore, I would like to understand why friction slowed the ball on the linear path to a
greater extent than the ball on the brachistochrone curve.

6.5 Conclusion:

Before this exploration, I always thought of math as difficult to apply to real life and physics
as somewhat uninteresting. I never really saw the connection between physics and math
except math being a means to solve physics equations. However, through this exploration, I
have realized that math can be easily applied to a great deal of problems, and problem that
sound simple, can be extraordinarily difficult to solve.

The brachistochrone problem has many solutions. One of the simpler ones is the one I have
used; however, Isaac Newton solved the problem is a different way, using partial derivates.
Although, I tried to understand his method, I found it much to difficult, not only to
understand but to explain. So I decided to solve the mathematical problem using physics
principle I had recently learnt in physics class: Snell’s Law and Fermat’s Principle. However,
I do hope that I will be able to understand and solve this problem using partial derivates,
sooner than later.

7 Bibliography:
1. Admin. “Fermat's Principle - Observations & Applications: Laws of Reflections.” BYJUS,

BYJU'S, 15 Oct. 2020, byjus.com/physics/fermats-principle/.

2. “Brachistochrone Curve.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Dec. 2020,

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachistochrone_curve.
3. “Brachistochrone Problem.” From Wolfram MathWorld,

mathworld.wolfram.com/BrachistochroneProblem.html.

4. “Law of Reflection.” Reflection and Fermat's Principle, hyperphysics.phy-

astr.gsu.edu/hbase/phyopt/Fermat.html.

5. “Parametric Equation of a Circle.” Parametric Equation of a Circle - Math Open

Reference, www.mathopenref.com/coordparamcircle.html.

6. “Parametric Equations, Polar Coordinates, and Vector-Valued Functions.” Khan Academy,

Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/math/ap-calculus-bc/bc-advanced-functions-

new.

7. Partial Differential Equations. www.math.toronto.edu/ivrii/PDE-textbook/PDE-

textbook.pdf.

8. Snell's Law -- The Law of Refraction, www.math.ubc.ca/~cass/courses/m309-

01a/chu/Fundamentals/snell.htm.