Parametrized

Surfaces

Vector Calculus(MATH-243) A parametrized surface 𝑆𝑆 expressed

Instructor: Dr. Naila Amir as a vector function of two variables
defined on a region 𝑅𝑅.
 Vector Calculus
16
Book: Calculus Early Transcendentals (6th Edition) By James Stewart.
• Chapter: 16
• Section: 16.6
Book: Thomas’ Calculus Early Transcendentals (14th Edition) By George B. Thomas, Jr.,
Joel Hass, Christopher Heil, Maurice D. Weir.
• Chapter: 16
• Section: 16.5
Parametric Surfaces
• So far, we have considered special types of surfaces:

– Cylinders
– Quadric surfaces
– Graphs of functions of two variables
– Level surfaces of functions of three variables.

• Now we aim to use vector functions to describe more general surfaces, called
parametric surfaces, and compute their areas.
Parametric Surfaces
In much the same way that we describe a space curve by a vector function 𝐫𝐫(𝑡𝑡) of a single
parameter 𝑡𝑡, we can describe a surface by a vector function 𝐫𝐫(𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣) of two parameters 𝑢𝑢 and
𝑣𝑣. We suppose that:

𝐫𝐫 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 = 𝑥𝑥 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 𝐢𝐢 + 𝑦𝑦 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 𝐣𝐣 + 𝑧𝑧 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 𝐤𝐤, (1)

is a vector-valued function defined on a region 𝐷𝐷 in the 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 −plane.

So, 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, and 𝑧𝑧, the component functions of 𝐫𝐫, are functions of the two variables 𝑢𝑢 and 𝑣𝑣 with
domain 𝐷𝐷. The set of all points (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧) in ℝ3 such that:

𝑥𝑥 = 𝑥𝑥 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 , 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑦𝑦 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 , 𝑧𝑧 = 𝑧𝑧 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 , (2)

and (𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣) varies throughout 𝐷𝐷, is called a parametric surface 𝑆𝑆 and Equations (2) are called
parametric equations of 𝑆𝑆.
Parametric Surfaces
Each choice of 𝑢𝑢 and 𝑣𝑣 gives a point on S; by making all choices, we get all of 𝑆𝑆. In
other words, the surface is traced out by the tip of the position vector 𝐫𝐫(𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣) as
(𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣) moves throughout the region 𝐷𝐷.

A parametric surface
Example:
Identify and sketch the surface with vector equation:
𝐫𝐫 𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣 = 2 cos 𝑢𝑢 𝐢𝐢 + 𝑣𝑣 𝐣𝐣 + 2 sin 𝑢𝑢 𝐤𝐤.
Solution:
The parametric equations for this surface are:
𝑥𝑥 = 2 cos 𝑢𝑢 , 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑣𝑣, 𝑧𝑧 = 2 sin 𝑢𝑢 .
So, for any point (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧) on the surface, we have:
𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑧𝑧 2 = 4 cos 2 𝑢𝑢 + 4 sin2 𝑢𝑢 = 4.
This means that vertical cross-sections parallel to the 𝑥𝑥𝑥𝑥 −plane
(that is, with 𝑦𝑦 constant) are all circles with radius 2. Since 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑣𝑣
and no restriction is placed on 𝑣𝑣, the surface is a circular cylinder
with radius 2 whose axis is the 𝑦𝑦 −axis.
Parametric Surfaces: Families of Curves
If a parametric surface 𝑆𝑆 is given by a vector function 𝐫𝐫(𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣), then there are two useful
families of curves that lie on 𝑆𝑆, one family with 𝑢𝑢 constant and the other with 𝑣𝑣 constant.
These families correspond to vertical and horizontal lines in the 𝑢𝑢𝑢𝑢 −plane. If we keep 𝑢𝑢
constant by putting 𝑢𝑢 = 𝑢𝑢0 , then 𝐫𝐫(𝑢𝑢0 , 𝑣𝑣) becomes a vector function of the single parameter
𝑣𝑣 and defines a curve 𝐶𝐶1 lying on 𝑆𝑆. Similarly, if we keep 𝑣𝑣 constant by putting 𝑣𝑣 = 𝑣𝑣0 , we get
a curve 𝐶𝐶2 given by 𝐫𝐫(𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣0 ) that lies on 𝑆𝑆. We call these curves grid curves. For instance, in
previous example, the grid curves obtained by letting 𝑢𝑢 be constant are horizontal lines
whereas the grid curves with 𝑣𝑣 constant are circles.
Example:
Identify the grid curves of the surface:
𝒓𝒓(𝑢𝑢, 𝑣𝑣) = 〈(2 + sin 𝑣𝑣) cos 𝑢𝑢, (2 + sin 𝑣𝑣) sin 𝑢𝑢, 𝑢𝑢 + cos 𝑣𝑣〉
Which grid curves have 𝑢𝑢 constant? Which have v constant?
Solution:
We graph the portion of the surface with parameter domain:
0 ≤ 𝑢𝑢 ≤ 4π, 0 ≤ 𝑣𝑣 ≤ 2π.
It has the appearance of a spiral tube. To identify the grid curves, we write the
corresponding parametric equations:
𝑥𝑥 = 2 + sin 𝑣𝑣 cos 𝑢𝑢 ,
𝑦𝑦 = 2 + sin 𝑣𝑣 sin 𝑢𝑢 ,
𝑧𝑧 = 𝑢𝑢 + cos 𝑣𝑣 .
If 𝑣𝑣 is constant, then sin 𝑣𝑣 and cos 𝑣𝑣 are constant, so the parametric equations
resemble those of the helix. Thus, the grid curves with 𝑣𝑣 constant are the spiral
curves in the figure. Moreover, we deduce that the grid curves with 𝑢𝑢 constant
must be curves that look like circles in the figure.
Example:
Find a parametric representation of the sphere:
𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 + 𝑧𝑧 2 = 𝑎𝑎2 .
Solution:
The sphere has a simple representation 𝜌𝜌 = 𝑎𝑎 in spherical coordinates, so let’s choose the
angles 𝜑𝜑 and 𝜃𝜃 in spherical coordinates as the parameters. Then, putting 𝜌𝜌 = 𝑎𝑎 in the equations
for conversion from spherical to rectangular coordinates, we obtain:
𝑥𝑥 = 𝑎𝑎 sin 𝜑𝜑 cos 𝜃𝜃 , 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑎𝑎 sin 𝜑𝜑 sin 𝜃𝜃 , 𝑧𝑧 = 𝑎𝑎 cos 𝜑𝜑 ,
as the parametric equations of the sphere. The corresponding vector equation is:
𝐫𝐫 𝜑𝜑, 𝜃𝜃 = 𝑎𝑎 sin 𝜑𝜑 cos 𝜃𝜃 𝐢𝐢 + 𝑎𝑎 sin 𝜑𝜑 sin 𝜃𝜃 𝐣𝐣 + 𝑎𝑎 cos 𝜑𝜑 𝐤𝐤.
We have 0 ≤ 𝜑𝜑 ≤ π and 0 ≤ 𝜃𝜃 ≤ 2π, so the parameter domain is the rectangle:
𝐷𝐷 = 0, 𝜋𝜋 × 0,2𝜋𝜋 .
The grid curves with 𝜑𝜑 constant are the circles of constant latitude (including the equator). The
grid curves with 𝜃𝜃 constant are the meridians (semi-circles), which connect the north and south
poles.
 Example:

The grid curves with 𝜑𝜑 constant are the circles of constant latitude (including the equator). The grid curves
with 𝜃𝜃 constant are the meridians (semi-circles), which connect the north and south poles.
Parametric Surfaces
Note:
• In general, a surface given as the graph of a function of 𝑥𝑥 and 𝑦𝑦, that is, with an
equation of the form 𝑧𝑧 = 𝑓𝑓 (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦), can always be regarded as a parametric surface
by taking 𝑥𝑥 and 𝑦𝑦 as parameters and writing the parametric equations as:
𝑥𝑥 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑦𝑦 , 𝑧𝑧 = 𝑓𝑓 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 .

• Parametric representations (also called parametrizations) of surfaces are not unique.

The next example shows two ways to parametrize a cone.
Example:
Find a parametric representation for the surface:
𝑧𝑧 = 2 𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 1/2 ,

that is, the top half of the cone 𝑧𝑧 2 = 4 𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 .

Solution:
One possible representation is obtained by choosing 𝑥𝑥 and 𝑦𝑦 as parameters:
𝑥𝑥 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧 = 2 𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 .
So, the vector equation is:
𝐫𝐫 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 2 𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 .
Another representation results from choosing as parameters the polar coordinates 𝑟𝑟 and 𝜃𝜃.
A point (𝑥𝑥, 𝑦𝑦, 𝑧𝑧) on the cone satisfies 𝑥𝑥 = 𝑟𝑟 cos 𝜃𝜃 , 𝑦𝑦 = 𝑟𝑟 sin 𝜃𝜃 , and 𝑧𝑧 = 2 𝑥𝑥 2 + 𝑦𝑦 2 = 2𝑟𝑟.
So, a vector equation for the cone is:
𝐫𝐫 𝑟𝑟, 𝜃𝜃 = 𝑟𝑟 cos 𝜃𝜃 , 𝑟𝑟 sin 𝜃𝜃 , 2𝑟𝑟 ,
Where, 𝑟𝑟 ≥ 0 and 0 ≤ 𝜃𝜃 ≤ 2𝜋𝜋.