Cartesian Equation vs.

Parametrization
Manoj Pandey
April 4, 2025

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Parametrization of a Surface 2

3 Circular Domain for Parametrization 4

4 Conclusion 5

1 Introduction
Parametric equations are often preferred over Cartesian equations, whether for curves
or surfaces, because they offer greater control over the domain and the shape of the
graph. Cartesian equations define the entire object, whereas parametric equations
allow us to specify a portion by controlling the parameters.

To understand this, let’s start with a curve. Consider the parabola given by the
Cartesian equation:
y = x2 .
This equation defines the entire parabola. However, if we use parametric equations
such as:
(x, y) = (t, t2 ),
we can control which portion of the parabola is plotted by restricting the parameter t.

Example 1.1. Plot a parabola over the domain [−2, 2].

Solution: To plot a portion of parabola over the domain [−2, 2], we shall use para-
metric equation (x, y) = (t, t2 ) and allow the parameter t ∈ [−2, 2], i.e., −2 < t < 2.
This will give us the portion of the parabola corresponding to x ∈ [−2, 2] (see figure
1.2). To plot this, we use the following GeoGebra command to plot the figure.

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Curve(Expression, Expression, Parameter, Start Value, End Value)

For the parabola with restricted domain [−2, 2], we shall write the following in input
bar

Curve(t, t2 , t, −2, 2) .

This will generate the figure (1.2).

Figure 1.1: Parabola Figure 1.2: Parabola in [-2,2]

2 Parametrization of a Surface
A similar concept applies to surfaces. The cartesian equation of the type z = f (x, y)
defines the entire surface. If the surface in unbounded, we may have difficulty to
visualize as the machine has smaller screen. Therefore, to control which part of the
surface is plotted, we must use parametric equation of a surface.

Now a question arises, how to obtain a parametrization of a surface. The answer

is: there is no universal way to obtain a parametrization of a surface. Sometimes a
simple trick will work or else one may also use geometry wherever possible.

But, in case, a surface is given by an equation of the form z = f (x, y), we have easy
trick to parameterize the surface. For a surface, we need two parameters. We simply
put x = u and y = u. This readily gives z = f (u, v). Thus a parametrization of a
surface z = f (x, y) comes out to be

x = u, y = v, z = f (u, v).

In other words, we write

(x, y, z) = (u, v, f (u, v)).
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The domain is described in terms of the parameters u and v:

D = {(u, v) ∈ R2 }.

We can control the domain by imposing restrictions on u and v. For example,

restricting u ∈ [−1, 1] and v ∈ [−1, 1] results in the domain:

D = {(u, v) : u ∈ [−1, 1], v ∈ [−1, 1]} = [−1, 1] × [−1, 1].

Geometrically, this domain is a square in the xy-plane.

Example 2.1. A parametrization of a paraboloid z = x2 + y 2 will be

x = u, y = v, z = u2 + v 2 .

Similarly, a parametrization of the hyperbolic paraboloid z = x2 − y 2 will be

x = u, y = v, z = u2 − v 2 .

GeoGebra Task: Plot a paraboloid and hyperbolic paraboloid over a square domain
given by
D = {(u, v) : u ∈ [−2, 2], v ∈ [−2, 2]} = [−2, 2] × [−2, 2].
Solution: To plot a parameterized surface, use the following GeoGebra Command:

Surface(x, y, z, u, Start Value, End Value, v, Start Value, End Value) .

Figure 2.1: Paraboloid Figure 2.2: Top View

Therefore to plot, the paraboloid z = x2 + y 2 over a square domain D = [−2, 2] ×

[−2, 2], we shall write the following in input bar.

Surf ace(u, v, u2 + v 2 , u, −2, 2, v, −2, 2) .

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This will generate the figures (3.3) and (3.4) in GeoGebra.

Similarly to plot, the hyperbolic paraboloid z = x2 − y 2 over a square domain D =

[−2, 2] × [−2, 2], we shall write the following in input bar.

Surf ace(u, v, u2 − v 2 , u, −2, 2, v, −2, 2) .

This will plot the hyperbolic paraboloid as shown in the figure.

Figure 2.3: z = x2 − y 2 Figure 2.4: Top View

3 Circular Domain for Parametrization

If we desire a circular domain, it is preferable to use polar coordinates (r, θ). We
know from geometry that relation between cartesian coordinates (x, y) and polar
coordinates (r, θ) is given by

x = r cos θ, y = r sin θ.

Therefore, in terms of polar coordinates, the parametrization of a surface z = f (x, y)

is given by:
x = r cos θ, y = r sin θ, z = (rcosθ, r sin θ).
Use of polar coordinates will help us manage circular domain by restricting r. Re-
stricting the parameters, such as 0 ≤ r ≤ a and 0 ≤ θ ≤ 2π, results in a circular
domain of radius a.

For ease of typing, we may write u for r and v for θ, i.e.,

r = u, θ = v,

Thus, for a paraboloid z = x2 + y 2 , we can have the parametrization:

x = u cos v, y = u sin v, z = u2 .
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Restricting the parameters, such as 0 ≤ u ≤ 1 and 0 ≤ v ≤ 2π, results in a circular

domain of radius 1. The image of paraboloid over a circular domain of radius 2 will
be plotted by the following command in GeoGebra.
Surf ace(u cos v, u sin v, u2 , u, 0, 2, v, 0, 2pi) .

Figure 3.1: z = x2 + y 2 Figure 3.2: Top View

Figure 3.3: z = x2 − y 2 Figure 3.4: Top View

Similarly, for a hyperbolic paraboloid given by:

z = x2 − y 2 ,
we may use polar coordinates to restrict a domain to be a circular. The desired
parametrization will be:
x = u cos v, y = u sin v, z = (u cos v)2 − (u sin v)2 .
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This allows for control over the domain using parameters u and v, where suitable
ranges can be set to extract a particular portion of the surface. Restricting the pa-
rameters, such as 0 ≤ u ≤ 1 and 0 ≤ v ≤ 2π, results in a circular domain of radius
1 as in case of paraboloid.

The image of hyperbolic paraboloid over a circular domain of radius 2 will be plotted
by the following command in GeoGebra.

Surf ace(u cos v, u sin v, (u cos v)2 − (u sin v)2 , u, 0, 2, v, 0, 2pi) .

4 Conclusion
Parametric equations provide greater flexibility for defining portions of a curve or
surface. While Cartesian equations describe the entire shape, parametrization allows
for localized control, making it useful in graphical representations and computational
modeling.