Go to content
The equations
x = 4t and y = 2 - 10t - 5t^2
can represent the path of a projectile. They are called parametric equations and t is the parameter.

You can get a better display of the maths by downloading special TeX fonts from jsMath. In the meantime, we will do the best we can with the fonts you have, but it may not be pretty and some equations may not be rendered correctly.

## Glossary

### parameter

a) a constant or variable term in a function that determines the specific form of the function but not its general nature, as a in f(x) = ax, where a determines only the slope of the line described by f(x).
b) one of the independent variables in a set of parametric equations.

### parametric equations

a pair of equations x=u(t) and y=v(t) where t is a parameter, that describe a curve.

### path

A finite sequence of edges such that the end vertex of one edge in the sequence is the start vertex of the next and in which no vertex appears more than once.

### projectile

a body moving in a gravitational field under free fall

### union

The union of two sets A and B is the set containing all the elements of A and B.

Full Glossary List

## This question appears in the following syllabi:

SyllabusModuleSectionTopic
AQA A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M1KinematicsProjectiles
AQA A2 Maths 2017MechanicsKinematicsProjectiles
AQA AS/A2 Maths 2017MechanicsKinematicsProjectiles
CCEA A-Level (NI)M2KinematicsProjectiles
CIE A-Level (UK)M2KinematicsProjectiles
Q Mechanics - KinematicsQ5 ProjectilesProjectiles
Edexcel A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M2KinematicsProjectiles
Edexcel A2 Maths 2017MechanicsProjectilesProjectiles
Edexcel AS/A2 Maths 2017MechanicsProjectilesProjectiles
OCR A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M2KinematicsProjectiles
OCR A2 Maths 2017MechanicsMotion in Two DimensionsProjectiles
OCR MEI A2 Maths 2017MechanicsProjectilesProjectiles
OCR-MEI A-Level (UK - Pre-2017)M1KinematicsProjectiles
Pre-U A-Level (UK)MechKinematicsProjectiles
Universal (all site questions)KKinematicsProjectiles
WJEC A-Level (Wales)M2KinematicsProjectiles