We continue our investigation of parametric equations. Because of the complexity of the graphs of parametric equations, we will limit our investigation to the following set of equations.

Since a and b in the equation above are both 1, the equation is of the same form as the equations on the previous page. The graph is an ellipse with x-intercepts 4 and -4 and y-intercepts 3 and -3. Now we want to have a look at what happens when we change a and b to values other than 1.

with a = 1 and b = 2
with a = 1 and b = 4
with a = 2 and b = 3
with a = 12 and b = 13

This class of parametric curves is called the Lissajous Curves. Click here to see an animation of these curves.

Back to the First Parametric Equations Page

Forward to the Third Parametric Equations Page

Back to my Main Page