Kaleigh's question at Yahoo Answers involving eliminating a parameter

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on eliminating the parameter from the given parametric equations \(x = \cos(t)\) and \(y = \sec(t)\). The solution involves multiplying the equations to derive the relationship \(xy = 1\), which can be rewritten as \(y = \frac{1}{x}\). This transformation effectively describes the graph in the xy-plane without the parameter \(t\).

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Hello Kaleigh,

We are given the parametric equations:

$$x=\cos(t)$$

$$y=\sec(t)$$

One way we may eliminate the parameter $t$ is to multiply the two equations together, giving:

$$xy=1$$

We may choose to write this as:

$$y=\frac{1}{x}$$

To Kaleigh and any other guests viewing this topic, I invite and encourage you to post other parametric equations questions in our http://www.mathhelpboards.com/f21/ forum.

Best Regards,

Mark.
 

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