Graphing Particle Motion in 3D on iPad App

[theobserver]

I have been working on something in my spare time and I have to graph the particle's motion in three dimensions because trying to explain it in words has not been working. How can a helix be graphed without parametric equations (the iPad app I'm using will not work with parametric equations)? Explaining what is happening and where the interference is coming from is hard and it works better to show someone.

 

[Unrest]

So you need to express it with two functions like this?
y(x) = ..
z(x) = ..
That's for a helix with the axis parallel to x. Still looks like parametric equations. What exactly does the app require for plotting a 3D curve?

 

[theobserver]

It needs to be a single equation. Cartesian coordinates are preferred.

 

[Unrest]

It needs to be a single equation. Cartesian coordinates are preferred.

You mean an implicit equation? I still don't know what form you want it in. Can you give an example.

Are you sure your graphing app can plot lines? Or does it just do surface plots like z=f(x,y) ? In that case it would be hideously complicated. You'd need to make the function undefined everywhere except on the curve, and even then the app may not notice the curve at all.

You suggest it can use polar coordinates, so how about:
z=theta
r=1
Or is that too many equations?

 

[theobserver]

I just decided to use a computer. I think I can only do surface plots on the iPad :(