P R E FACE

T HI S b oo k relate s not to the general theory of curve s

, ,

but to the d e fi nite problem of a s certaining the form of a

curve given by it s equa t ion in Carte s ian coor dina t es in ,

s uch case s a s are likely t o arise in the actual applica t ion s

of A nal y t ical Geometry T he me t hod s emplo yed are e x clu
.

s iv e ly algebraic , no k nowledge of the D ifferential Calc ulu s

on t he par t of the reader being a s s umed .

I have endeavored to make the treatment of the s ub

j ec t th us res t ricted co m ple t e in all e ss ential point s without

,

e x ceeding s uch limit s a s it s importance would s eem to

j u s tify Thi s it ha s s eemed t o me po s si b le to d o b y intro
.

duc ing a t an early s tage t he device of the A nal ytical Tri

angle and u s ing it in connection with all the me t hods of
,

appro x ima t ion.

In cons t ructing the triangle which i s e ss entiall y New

,

’
ton s parallelogram I have adop t ed Cramer s method of
,
’

repre s en t ing the possible term s by point s with a dis t in

,

u i s hing mark to indicate t he ac t ual presence of t he term

g
in t he equa t ion . The s e poin ts were regarded b y Cramer
as m ar k in g the centre s of the square s in which , in New
 P R E FA CE

ton s parallelogram the value s of t he ter ms were to b e

’

in s cri b e d ; b ut I have followe d the u s ual practice fi rst ,

s ugge s ted I b elieve by Frost of regarding them merel y

, , ,

a s points referred to the s ide s of the triangle a s coordina t e

axe s . I t ha s however been thought be s t t o ret urn t o
, ,

New t on s arrangement in wh i ch these analyt ical ax es are

’

in the usual po s i t ion of coordina t e ax e s in s tea d of placing,

the third s ide of the triangle like D e Gua and Cramer in , ,

a hori z ontal po s ition .

The third s ide of the A nal ytical Triangle b ear s the

s ame relation to the geo metrical concep t ion of the line at
infini t y t hat the other side s b ear to the coordinate a x es .

I have aimed to b ring out t hi s connection in s uch a way

t hat the stu d ent who desire s to take up t he general theory
of curve s may gain a clear view of thi s conception and b e ,

prepared to pa s s rea d ily from the Car t e s ian s y s tem of

coordinate s i n which one of the fundamental line s i s the
,

line at in fi nit y to the generali z ed s y s te m in which all

, ,

three fundamental line s are taken at plea s ure .

Li s t s of e xamples for prac t ice will b e fou nd at the end

of each s ection The s e e x ample s have been s electe d from
.

variou s s ource s and classified in accor d ance with the s ub

,

j e c t s of the s everal s ection s .

W w J
. . .

U S . . NAV AL ACAD E MY,

November, 1 884.
 CONT E NT S

E q uat i ons so vel d for one variabl e

D i amet e rs

L i mi ti ng tang e nt s .

A s ymp to te s to an hyp e rbol a

P a rabo la s

Curv i li ne ar di am e te rs

l
E mp o yme nt o f the i
rat o o f the c oor di nates
i
P o nts at nfi n ty i i .

A s y mp to te s g e nera l me thod
S ymmetry o f c urves

E XA MP L E S I

T he ana l yti cal t i angl e

r

i on w i th the
I nters e c t s ax e s

T he l i ne t i nfi nity
a

A s ymp tote s p ara e to ll l o ne of the ax e s

li
P arabo c b ranc he s
P arall el a s m
y p to te s

T angent s at igi n
the o r
T ang ent s at the p o i nts of i nte i
rs e c t on W 1th an

I nters e c t i o n o f a c urv e i a t ng nt
w th a e

I nters e c ti o n of a c ub i c w i th i t m
y p t
s as o te s

E XA M P L E S I I
 C ONTE NTS

Approx i mate forms of curves

Ap p rox i mate f orms at i nfini ty
R adi us of curvature at the o rigi n
Metho d of d etermi ni ng the e q uati ons of ap p rox i mate curve s

T he a na lyti cal p ol ygon

Co ns tructi on of the ap p ro i mati ng cu x rve s

S id e f the p l yg o n ep r
s o o nti ng more than one ap p
r e se rox i mate fo r m
I m gi n ry ap p ro i mate forms
a a x

E XA MP L E S I I I

IV

S econ d i mati on when the s id e of the

app rox p o lygon gi ves
%
on ly
fi s t ap p o i m ti on
r r x a

S el ecti o n of th te ms w hi h d termi n the ne

e r c e e x t a p rox
p i mati on
S ucc i e pp o i mati on
es s v a r x

A ymp t ti c p a abol a
s o r s

Conti nuati on of the p oces s of ap p ro i mationr x

E XA MPL E S I V

Cases of equa roots l

Cusp s
T acno d es
Cusp s at i nfi ni t
y
R amp hoid c us p s

i
C rcu tsi
A u i l i y l oc i
x ar

T ang nt e t the inters e c t n

s a f au i l i y l oc i
1o s o x ar

L oc i ep re nti ng q ua e d f c tors
r se s r a

P o i nt i n w hi ch
s e ral au i l i ary l oc i i nte
s ev ectx rs

E XA MP L E S V
 CUR V E T R ACI NG

E qua tions 5 0 1718 41 f or One Va r ia éle

1 . equation of a curve is in the s e page s s uppo s ed to

T HE
be given in Car t esian coordina t es and the curve is said t o be
l m cm when the general form of i t s several parts or branche s
’
,

is de t er mined and the po s ition of t ho s e which are unlimited in

,

e x t en t is indicated In the diagra ms the coordina t e a x es w ill

.
,

for conve nience be a s sumed rec t angular ; but the methods are
,

eq uall y applicable to oblique a x es When it i s pos s ible to solve

.

t he eq ua t ion for one of t he coordinate s s o a s t o e x press it s ,

v al ue in t erm s of th e other t he resul t ing form of the eq ua t ion

,

affords t he mo s t obviou s me t hod of t racing the c urve Thi s .

may be done for either variable when t he equa t ion is of the

second degree in bo t h variables in which ca s e the curve i s a,

comb . For e x ample le t t he given eq ua t ion be

,

2x
2 — 2 xy +y 2

Solving for y we have ,

y = x
 CUR VE T E A CI A/ G [A r t . 1

Th us for
, an
y given value of x, we have two val ue s of y ; a nd

if we put
2: x

the equation of the curve become s

'
r = r rr
V( 2x

D i a meter s

2 . E qua t ion
( 3) repre s en ts a straight line and equation ( 4) ,

s how s t ha t t he t wo ordina t es for t he curve may be found by

adding t o and s ub t rac t ing fro m the ordina t e of t he straight
line t he sa me q uan t i t y I n o t her word s t he chord j oining t he
.
,

t wo poin t s of t he c urve which have the s a me ab s cissa t hat is , ,

an
y chord parallel t o t he a x is of y is bi s ec t ed b y t he
, s t raight
line Thi s line i s t herefore called a d ia mete r of t he c urve
. .

T he dia me t er repre s ented by equa t ion ( 3) i s con s tructed in

Fig I
. .

3 The radical V( 2 x
.
—
x ) w hich i s half t he length of the
2
,

chord varie s wi t h x and vanishe s for t he t wo value s

, ,

x = o

the corre s ponding poin ts on t he dia meter are therefore al s o

point s of the curve Wri t ing t he radical in the form
.

i t is obvious t ha t all val ue s of x between 0 and 2 give real

value s to the radical s ince they render both of the factor s
,
 DI A M E TE E S
°

un d er the radical S ign po s i t ive and t hat all value s e x t e rior t o ,

the s e limi t s give i maginary val ues t o the radical H ence all .

the real poin t s of t he c urve lie be t ween the s traigh t line s x O

and x 2 a s represen t ed in Fig I

, T he s e . .

Y
limiting lines are eviden t ly tangen t s t o the
curve at the poin t s where the y c ut t he diam
e t er Put t ing t he radical in the form
.

( I

” 9"
we s ee tha t the ma x imum value of the rad
ical i s unit y and corre s pond s t o t he value x
, 1 or the m id dle ,

point of the dia me t er T he lines pas s ing through t he corre .

s p onding poin t s of the c urve parallel to the diameter are

obviously tangen t s The curve is an ellip s e . .

4 . As a s econd e xample let us take the curve

y
z — xy + y
Solving for y ,

y = %( x I) rt 2 36 -
3)

Put t ing x 3
2
we fi n d that
2x the radical vani s he s 0,

when x 3
z : and when x z 1 t he,equation m a
y therefore
be written in the form

J ) J= x
2 ( 1 ) i %v[ ( x
3) ( x I )]

The s traight line

y %( x I
)

i s therefo e a diameter and the line s

r
,

as : x = 1
 C UR VE TRA CI N G

are tangen t s ; b ut the radical is in this case imaginary for, ,

value s of x be t ween the li miting val ue s since such values make ,

one of the fac t ors posi t ive and t he o t her nega t ive and real for ,

value s e x terior to t he li mi t s H ence the curve consist s of two

.

b ranches touching the lines x z 3 and x I at their in t er z:

s ec t ion s with the diameter repre s ente d by equation a s in

Fig 2
. .

A sy mp totes

5 . Putting the ra d ical in the form

V[ ( x I ) 2

we s ee that it s value increa s es in d e fi nitely a s x increa s e s in

n umerical value but t hat it ,

is alway s le ss t han x I .

Thus t he poin ts of the

curve lie be t ween the lines

y = %( x I
) i %( x + (4)

that is to s ay , the line s

= x a nd y
-
1 .

The c urve approaches inde fi

nit ely to t hese line s since t he di f
,
ference between x I and

the radical decrease s wi t hou t li mit as x increase s numerically

The lines are t herefore a sy mp totes T he a s ympto t e s and th e
.

t wo branches of t he curve are con s tr uc t ed in Fig The curve .

i s an h yperbola .
 AS YM P T O TE S

6 . It i s eviden t from the above me t hod of finding the

a s ymptote s that the position of t hese lines will no t be affected
by a change in the val ue of the absolute t erm For e x a mple .
,

if the abso lute ter m in equation ( I ) be changed fro m 1 t o 2 the ,

onl y change will be t ha t the radical will becom e V[(x I)

2

and t he as y mptotes will st ill be repre s en t ed by e q uat ion

Moreover t he value of t he ab s olu t e term may be s uch a s to
,

make the equa t ion id entical wi t h the equation which re p re

s ent s the two a s ymp t o t e s In t he pre s en t in s tance t he lat ter
.
,

e q uat ion i s (y — x ) (y —
I )I O O r y
— xy +y
- — x _ O w hic h
,
2
:
-

i s equation ( I ) with t he ab s olu t e t erm changed to z ero If on .

,

the other hand the ab s olute term i s changed to

,
I t he radical ,

become s s 2x 5) which cannot be made to vanish a s in

A rt 4 b ut i s alway s nu mericall y greater than x
.
,
I Thus .

the curve will no longer cut t he diameter as in Fig 2 but will , .

,

lie on the o t her s ide of the as y mp t ote s It will in fact b e the .

, ,

conj ugate of the h yperbola drawn in Fig 2 . .

7 . If we s olve equa t ion ( I ) of A rt 4 . for x we have

,

x = y +

Thi s form of the equation S hows that for each value of y ther e
is a single value of x b ut this value i s in fi ni t e when y
,
I .

T he line y I is th erefore an a s mp t ote T he value of

y .

I
t he frac t ion is positive for all val ues of y algebraicall y
y I

g rea t er than I and nega t ive for all v al ue s less t han

, I ;

he n ce t he par t of t he curve above the line y I lie s on the

r ig h t of t he line and t ha t below t he line I on the

y x z
, y
left of the line y z x A s t he n umerical v al ue of y increases
.

indefi ni t el y t hat of t he frac t ion decreases indefinitely which

, ,

S how s tha t y x is al s o an as mp t o t e
y .
 C UR VE TRA (I I /VG [A rt 8

P a m bol a s

8 It follow s from w ha t is shown in A rt 6 that an equation

. .

of the s econd degree will represent an h yperbola when the

t erm s of the second degre e can be re s olved in t o real factors .

I n thi s ca s e t he y cons t i t ute t he di fference of two s quare s On

, .

t he other hand the equation represen ts an ellipse when t hese

,

t erm s con s ti t ut e t he sum of two square s a s in equation ( I ) , ,

A rt I. The inter media t e case is t hat in which the term s form

.

a perfect s quare For e x ample let the equation be

.
,

x
2
+ 2 xy +y 2
2x 6y + I = o .

Solving for y ,

hence
y + x
( fl
is t he equation of the d iameter bisecting chord s parallel to the
ax is of y The radical i s real for all values of x alge b raically
.

les s than 2 and imaginary for all values ,

grea t er t han 2 ; hence the c urve lie s on the

left of the line as 2 which it touche s at ,

the point ( 2 I ) where it cu ts t he diam eter

, .

If we s olve for x we find in like manner , , ,

x + y — I = i 2
V:yy
hence
x + y —I = o

i s the equation of the diameter bi s ecting chord s parallel to the

a x is of x and the curve touches t he line y
, O a t the poin t

( I
, O ) The
. val ue of t he radical in ei t her form of the equation
increases without limit but there is no a s ymptote The curve
,
.

is a parabola .
§ I] C UR VI Z I N E AR D I AM E T E E S

Ca r ail i nea r D ia meter s

We pa ss now to an e xa mple in which the curve is a

9 .

cu b ic al t hough the equa t ion is only of the s econd degree wi t h

,

re s pect to ei t her variab le Given the equa t ion .

2x 2
y x 2
+y 2
2x

solving the equation a s a qua d ra t ic for y we hav e ,

. _ x z
:t
V( x4 + x 2 _

or re s olving the quantit y un d er t he ra d ical S ign into factor s

, ,

x 2
:t I )( x 2
x

Putting y in eq ua t ion ( I ) we find that the curve in t er

O ,

s ects t he a x is of a: at t he origin and a t t he poi nt ( 2 O) ; an d , ,

put t ing x 0 we fi nd t hat it meet s t he a x is of y at no poi nt

,

e x cep t t he origin E q uat ion ( 2 ) gives in general t wo value s of

.

y for each val u e of x and t he

, corresponding point s are equally
d i s tant from tha t poin t of the parabola

x 2
( 3)

which ha s the same absci ss a In other word s chords parallel .

,

to the a x i s of y are bisected by t hi s parabola which i s t here ,

fore a d ia meter This diame t ral parabola i s cons t ruc t ed in

.

Fig 4 .

The quantity which occur s under th e radical

10 . S ign in
equation nam ely

x ( x x
 C UR VE CL/VG [A rt
’

. Io

changes S ign onl y t wice a s x pas s es t hro ugh all po ss ible values ,

since i t vanishes onl y when x O and whe n x z I I t i s in .

,

fac t negative for all value s of x

,

be t ween t hese limit s and po s itive ,

for all o t her val ues of x There .

is therefore no par t of t he curve

be t ween t he lines 4: 0 and
x I ; and these li mi t ing line s

touch t he c urve at the point s

where t he y intersect t he diame
tral curve repre s ente d by equation
tha t i s at t he origin and at ,

t he point ( I I), S ee Fig 4

-
. . .

11 . If we s olve equa t ion ( I ) for x we hav e ,

z
y
— r

One value of x becomes infinite when 2} I O ; the other

val ue take s an indeter minate form in eq uation but referring ,

t o equation ( I ) it i s found to be re
, H ence t he line

is an as y mptote cu t ting the c urve a t th e point

, as in
t he diagra m T he e x pression under the radical S ign evidently
.

v anishes for y I and p utt ing th e radical in the form

z :
,

-
r) ( 1 +y 2r
d] ,

it i s s een t o be i maginary for all values of y greater t han unit y ,

a n d real for all o t her val ues H ence the c urve lie s entirely
.

below the line

= 1
y 3
§ I] E M P L O YM E N T OF T HE RA 7 7 0 OF c o OR B / N A TE S

and s ub s tit uting thi s val ue in equation

,
we find t hat thi s
line touche s the curve at the point I ,

E mp loy ment o
f Me R a ti o o
f tne Coor d i na tes

If we denote the ratio

12 . Of t he coordinate s of any point
by m thu s ,

the value of m may b e regarded a s a new coordinate of the

poin t which in conj unction wi t h one of the o t her coordina t es
, , ,

will serve to determine the posi t ion of t he poin t The poin t s .

which have a com mon val ue of m are s i t uated upon the s traight
line
y mx

which pa ss es through the origin ; an d when a point i s deter ,

mined by the val ues of m and x i t i s virtually determine d a s

,

t he inter s ec t ion of a line of this charac t er and a line parallel

t o the ax i s of y .

If now we eli minate y from t h e equation of a curve by

, ,

means of the equa t ion y mx we S hall have t he eq ua t ion of

,

the c urve in the form of a rela t ion be t ween m and x When .

thi s form of the equation can be solved for x we can by giving , ,

values to m determine a ny desired n umber of point s on t he

,

curve and can trace it s for m with as m uch facili t y a s when y i s

,

e x pre ss e d in terms of x .

13 . As an illu s tration let the equation of the curve b e

,

3
y
 C UR VE C
TR A I N G [A t
'

r 13

P utting mx for y thi s b ecome s

,

( m
3 I
) x3 ( m 2 I ) x 2
o .
( )
2

T he factor x in thi s equation indicate s that the curve pa ss es

2

t wice through t he origin for a straight line generall y cut s the

c urve in three point s and eq uation ( 2 ) S how s that for all lines
,

of the form m e two of t hese poin ts have t he ab s ci s sa

x 1: O R ej ecting thi s factor and s olving for r we h av e
.
, ,

in which x i s e x pre ss ed in terms of the variable m an d denote s

the ab s ci ss a of t he t hird poin t in which the line y mx mee t s
t he curve The ordina t e Of thi s point which we s hall d eno t e
.
,

by P i s ,

y = mx

an d a ss uming the value of m we may determine the po s ition

, ,

of P by mean s of any two Of the t hree coordina t e s x y an d m , .

14 . with m
B eginning 0 equation ( 3) give s x I and P , ,

i s at A the poin t ( I O) the line y

,
mx coinciding with the
, ,

ax i s of x ; as m increases t he line rotates ,

about the origin coinciding wi t h the ax is ,

of y when m i s in fi nite W hen m I .

,

the value s of x an d y are both infinite ;

thu s a s m varie s fro m O t o I x increase s
, ,

from I to infinit y P de s cribing the in finite ,

b ranch AB in Fig 5 Pas sing the value . .

m 1 x ch ange s S ign ; and a s m passes

,

from I to 0 0 P describe s the infini t e branch C0 arriving at t he

, ,

ori gin when m z oo s ince e quation (4) t hen give s y z 0

,
.
 C UR VE TRA (fl /VG [A rt 16

Asy mptotes

16 . A real point at infini t y u s ually corre s pon ds to an

-
m
y p t o t e who s e direc t ion is determined b y t he value of m .

T o illustra t e t he me t hod of finding i t s position le t u s determine ,

t he as ymptote to the c urve dra w n in Fig 5 The equation of . .

the curve equation

,
A rt 1 3 may be written in the form
.
,

—
y x

Now when the point P recedes indefinitel y on t he b ranch AB

, ,

x and y become infini t e bu t y 75 ma never t hele s s have a

y ,

fini t e val ue T o fi nd t his val ue pu t mx for

.
,

in equa t ion I ) and t hen make m z I and

y
5
( ,

x 0 ; or what co me s to t he s ame t hing

r: 0
, ,

p ut y x and x z 0 The proces

, s m a
y 0 .

be e x pre s sed thu s ,

y
— x
i
2
J ’Z
i
- -
xy - -
x
y
= x = oo

in which the s uffi x e d equa t ion i s to be unders t oo d to mean

tha t t he rat io of y t o x is one of equalit y when x i s infinite .

T he re s ul t show s tha t when t his i s the ca s e the quantit y y

,
x ,

approaches t he finite li mi t I If now we draw the st raigh t

.
, ,

line
y x

in which this q uanti t y ha s cons t antl y t he value I it i s evident ,

t hat t he poin t P moving along the c urve approache s indefi

nit e ly t o this line which is t herefore an asy mp t o t e a s re p re
, ,

s ente d in Fig 6 . .
 S YMM E TR I CA L C UP VE S

17I t is obvio us t ha t had t he eq ua t ion con t ained t er ms of

.
,

a degree lower t han t he second t he y wo uld have vanished in ,

the proce ss of finding t he as y mp t ote For e x a mple the curve .

,

3
y

who s e equation di ffers fro m that of t he curve drawn in Fig 6 .

only by con t aining the term x will have t he sa me as y mptote ,

for we have

y
— x — I .

Thus if the e q uation of the c urve is of t he nt h degree the

, ,

asympto t es generall y depend onl y upon the ter ms of the nt h

and (n I ) t h degree s .

Sy mmetry of Cur nes

18 In s ome cases the for m of t he e q uation indicates the

.
,

s y m metry of the c urve in cer t ain respec t s For e x a mple if .

,

the eq ua t ion con t ains powers of y wi t h even e x ponen t s onl y ,

the c urve is s ymme t rical t o t he a x is of x ; for in t his case if t he , ,

point (a 5) s a t isfies t he eq uat ion t he poin t (a

, o) s y mme t
, ,

r icall
y s i t ua t ed wi t h respec t t o t his a x is also sa t is fi es t he equa

t ion In like manner if t he eq ua t ion con t ains powers of a

.
,
:

with even e x ponen t s onl y t he c urve is s ymme t rical t o t he a x is

,

Of y . A gain if the s um of t he e x ponen t s of x and y in each

,

term is an even number or if i t is in each term an odd num ,

ber the curve is s ymme t rical wi t h respec t to t he origin as a

,

centre for in this case if t he poin t (a 5) sat isfies t he eq ua t ion

, , , ,

t he point a 6) will also s a t isfy it

, If a: and y are in t er .

changeable the c urve is s y mme t rical t o t he line bisec t ing t he

,

a ngle between the a x es ; since if the poin t ( a o ) s,a t isfies t he ,

 e w VE A
TA A ca ve [ rt 18
e ’

equation t he point ( 6 a) will also sat isfy it The s e considera

, , .

tion s will be u s eful in the c ase of s ome of the followin g examp le s ‘

E xa mp l e s I

T rac e the c urves whose e q ua tions are g iven below

1 . x
2
+ xy — y + 3x 2
o .

z
+ 4y 2
Sr — 4 0
2 s x 4 y
x

3 . x
2 — 2 xy + y + 2 O .

4 . x
2
2x
y + y
2
2x y + 1 2

6x 2
+ 4 xy + y 2 - —2 — 2
5 .
3 x y
6 . x
2
8 xy + l 6y z — 6x 1 z y + 9 O .

7 y
x —
.
z
x Z —y 2
= 0 ,

8 . x 3 x -
y O .

a3
z z
0
9 . a y a y .

I O .
y
3 x 2
( x a ) .

1 1 . x 3
+ x 2 —y = 2
o .

z z 2
2 a xy a x a y O
12 . a y .

1 3 . x 4 = y ’
-v

( 4 a
z
) x 2
.

“ ( 5x )
( )
2 ’
14 x a a
4y o

( +y )
2 z 2 2 2
1 5 . x y a x .

1 6 .
( x 2a ) xy (
d x a )( x 3 a
) .

17 . x3

18 4 3
2
2 ay o
. x 3 y
ax .

1 9 y .
3 x3 —y + 4x o .

20 . x 3
+y 3 -
x 2 —y 2
= o .

2 1 . x 3
+y 3

2 2 . x 3
y +
3
( 2y x ) 2
o .

( + y) ( +y ) W
2 ’
x 26
2 3 x

24 .
y
4
y
3x x3 2 n o .

2 7 y .
3 x 2
( x a ) .

)y =
8 6x ( 1 -
x I 3 x .
 THE A NAL YTI CA L TRI ANGL E

The A na ly tica l Tr ia ng le

19 . two inter s ecting s traight line s b e drawn ; and let

LE T
each term in t he complete equation of t he nth degree be r ep re
s ented by a point who s e coordinates wi t h re s pect to these line s
a re the e x ponent s of x and y respecti v el y in that term we S hall
thu s have a triangular arrangement of poin ts t here being n 1 ,

point s on each s ide of the triangle Th us if n .

3 B ,
z :
,

we have t he arrangement given in Fig 7 in which .

,

t here are four point s on each s ide of the triangle .

T he diagram t hu s formed is called the a na ly tica l

tria ng l e ; the line s of reference are t he a na ly ti Fig 7 .

ca l ax es of a: and y re s pectivel y T he point s upon 0 A t he ana

.
,

lyt ic al a x is of x represent the term s of the equation which do

,

not con t ain y ; the point s on OB repre s ent the term s which
do not con t ain x ; and the point s on t he thir d s ide AB of the , ,

analytical triangle repre s ent the term s Of the nth d egree .

20 The equation of a given curve i s s ai d to be p la ced up on

.

tk e a na ly tica l tr ia ng l e when the poin ts which repre s ent t he

term s actually occurring in the equation are marked

in s ome convenient manner Thu s the equation .

’
2x y

of the curve traced in Fig 4 page 8 i s placed on .

, ,

the anal ytical triangle in Fig 8 In thus placi ng . .

the equation no attention i s paid t o t he coe fficient s the obj ect

, ,
 C UR VE TRA ca ve [A r t 20

being si mply to indicate the presence of certain term s in the

eq ua t ion and the ab s ence of others When the value s of the
, .

ter ms are required it i s of cour s e nece ss ary to refer to the e qua

,

tion of the curve .

I nter sections z oitfi t/i e Ax es

21 If we put y
. O in the e q uation of a curve an d s uppo s e ,

x to have a finite value all t he t erm s e x cept tho s e represented

,

by poin t s on the analy t ical a x is of x w ill vani s h H ence the .

resul t of eq uating t he s e t er ms t o z ero is an equation det e rmin

ing all the finite point s in which the curve meet s the ax i s of x .

T his equa t ion will generally have n root s real or imaginary ;

thu s if n
, 3 it s form
, will be
A + B x + Cx 2
+ Dx 3

a cubic equation If there be no ab s olute term in the given

.

eq uation t hat i s if in equa t ion (a) A

, , 0 one of the root s will ,

be z ero and the curve will pa s s t hrough the origin

,
On the .

o t her hand if the ter m 0 x be absen t the equation reduce s to

,
3
,

one of t he s econd degree and determine s but two finite inter

,

s ec t ion s with the a x is of x ; b ut pu tt ing equation (a ) in the ,

form

x 3 x 2
x

I
which is a cu b ic equation determining three values of we see
I
that when D
,
0 ,
one of the val ues of a: Is z ero and therefore
,

one of t he value s Ofx i s infini t e H ence in thi s ca s e one of the

.
, ,

in t ersec t ions of the curve wi t h t he a x i s of x i s said t o be a t

i nfini ty . The geometrical meaning of thi s i s that a s traight
 I
§ ]I IN TE RS E C TI ON S WI TH T HE A XE S

line u s uall y c ut s t he curve in t hree point s but when t he line is ,

brought in t o coincidence with t he a x i s Ofx one of t he s e point s ,

Of intersectio n recede s indefini t ely and di s appears A n insp ec .

tion of Fig 8 shows tha t the c urve whose equation is there

.

placed upon the anal ytical triangle c ut s the a x i s Ofcc at infinity ,

a t the origin and at one other point

, .

22 . In like manner an inspec t ion of Fig 8 S hows that the

, .

curve cu t s t he a x is of y at infinity and tw ice at the origin it i s

,

t herefore said t o meet the a x is of y in tw o coi ncident p oints at

t he origin T he geometrical meaning Of this is t hat two of the
.

three poin t s in which a s traigh t line cut s t he curve co me into

coincidence a t t he origin when t he cu t ting line i s brought
in t o coincidence with t he ax is of y I t i s eviden t t hat thi s will
.

happen whenever the curve has t wo branche s passing through

the origin a nd also whenever the a x i s of y i s a tangent to the
,

c urve ; but S ince in t he presen t instance t he c urve c uts the

,

a x i s of a: but once a t the origin we infer t hat the c urve ha s a

,

single branch passing through the origin and touching the

ax is of y .

23 . It is evident that there m ust alway s be at lea s t one of

the marked poin t s upon each anal y t ical a x i s for o t herwise the
equation co uld be divided thro ugho ut by y or by x and it s locu s ,

would not be a proper c urve of t he nth degree but t he combi ,

nation consis t ing of the straigh t line y z 0 or x O and a , ,

curve of t he ( n I ) t h degree If t here is but one marked point

.

on an anal yt ical ax is it divides t he side of t he anal yt ical triangle

,

in t o par ts which indicate respe c t ivel y t he number of t i me s the

curve cuts t he corresponding geo me t rical ax is a t t he origin
and at infin it y and the c urve c ut s t he ax i s in no other point
, .

B ut if there are t wo or more marked point s upon t he anal ytical

,

ax i s the n umber of s paces be t w e e n t he most dis t ant of the s e

,

point s in d icate s t he number of fini t e point s of intersection with

 C UR VE TRA CI N G ’

[A r t 2 3

the a x is dis t inct from t he origin W hen there are two or mor e .

of t hese roo t s a pair of t hem may be imaginary or they may be

, ,

real and eq ual In the lat t er case t he curve cuts t he geome t ri

.
,

cal ax is in t wo coi ncident poin t s which generally indicates ,

tangenc y t o the ax i s a s in the ca s e Of the two z ero root s for y

,

con s idered in A rt 2 2 . .

Til e L i ne at I nfi nity

24 I t wa s S hown in A rt 1 5 tha t if we put equal to z ero

. .
,

t he gro up of ter ms of the highes t degree in the equa t ion of a

c urve t he res ul t ing equa t ion gives t he values of m t he ra t io of
, ,

y t o cc for t he point s a t infini t

, y T hese terms are t hose whose .

represen t a t ive poin t s are si t ua t ed upon the third side A B of , ,

the anal yt ical triangle ; and i t is c us t o mary to speak of t hi s

equa t ion as de t er mining tk e i nters ecti ons of Me cur ve w i tk tk e
l i ne a t i nfini ty E ach Of the real inter s ection s general ly deter
.

mines as shown in A rt 1 6 t he direc t ion of an a sy mptote

,
.
, .

25 . T he equation in q ues t ion i s of the general form

n—
L ac ”
Ma {y Ry ” = o,
*

which being of the

,
nth degree determine s ,
n values of i
“

t ; thu s ,

t he line at infinit y like an ordinary straight line is said t o cut

, ,

the c urve in n real or imaginary point s If the ter m L n r e p .

”
,

resen t ed b y the verte x A of t he analy t ical triangle i s wan t ing ,

I f the e q u ti
a on o f the curv e is b y th int
as us ua l r end ere d h o mog e ne o us e ro

d ti n f t h l tt
uc o o w hi h m y b
e e g d
er a ,d d n t i n
cg th u
a n i t f l
e re ng th th i
ar e as e o e o e , s

e q ti
ua b d i d f m th
o n can e q t i n f th
e r ve ro b y p utti ng
e e ua ; j t o o e c urv e a 0 us as

th q ti f th i nt
e e ua on ti n w i t h t h
or e i f i d i d b y p tti ng y
e rsec o s e ax s o x s er v e u 0

H n e i
ce , a s
y t h q t i no f t
sh i f
e e th ua i mp o ibl
o q u t i n
e ax s o x , so e o ss e e a o a o

i
s reg d dar th q et i asn f t h li n
e e t i fi ni ty
ua o o e e a n .
 C UR VE TR A CI NG

fore the eq ua t ion of the as y mp t o t e Compare A rt I I I t is . . .

evident t ha t in t his process all t he ter ms vanish e x cep t t hose

, ,

con t aining t he highe s t power of x which occ urs in t he eq ua t ion ,

t hat is to s ay t he t erm s represen t ed by the points adj acen t t o

,

t he verte x A of t he ana lytical triangle ; hence the re s ult is

arrived at by si mpl y putting t he sum of these ter ms namel y , ,

z
z x y x equal t o z ero and rej ecting the co mmon factor x
2
, ,
2

P a r a éol i c B r a nt /cos

27 .The a tt e mpt to fi n d an as ymptote parallel t o the ax is of

y in the ca s e of t he curve considered in the preceding ar t icles
re s ult s in an i mpos s ible eq ua t ion T hu s dividing equation ( I )
.
,

by y we have
,

+ I + 2

in which it is impo s sible t o make y infini t e while x remains

fi ni t e ; we infer t herefore t ha t t he curv e ha s pa ra bol ic bra nc/z es
, ,

in the direc t ion of th e a x is of y ; that is infini t e branches ,

which li k e t he parabola have no asy mptote T his is owing to

, , .

t he ab s ence fro m t he equation of t he curve of the term rep re

s ented by the poin t on the t hird side A 3 of t he anal ytical tri ,

angle adj acen t t o t he verte x B See Fig 8 page 1 5 Now in . .

, .
,

consequence of t he ab s ence of t his ter m t he eq ua t ion for t he ,

in t ersection wi t h t he line at infini t y ha s a double root x 0 ,

8 0 that the li ne a t i nfinity is s a id to meet tk e cur ve i n tw o coinci

dent p oi nts where i t cro ss e s the a x is of y It is evident that this .

would also occ ur if the curve had two a s ymp t o t es parallel t o

the a xi s of y ; b ut si nce Fig 8 show s that the curve meet s the
, .

a x is of y b ut once a t infini t y t he diagram indicate s t he para b olic

,

branch .

28 . In general the line at infini t y i s s aid to meet the curve

,
 PARA B OL I C B R A N CH E S

in tw o coi nc id ent p oi nts whenever t he eq uat ion for i t s int e rs e c

tions has a pair of eq ual roo t s and t his us ually indicates a para ,

b ol ic branch For let the equa t ion of the curve b e writt e n in

.
,

the for m
P, P. ( ) I

where P deno t es t he s um of the ter ms of the nth degree

,, ,

t he s um of t he t er ms of t he (n I ) t h degree and S O on : then , ,

if m i s a double roo t of the equat ion P

, O equation ( I ) may , ,

be written in t he for m

(y m x ) Qu
i
Z
- 2
‘

l Pn —I
"
P n —z ( ) 2

in which Q 1 8 an e x pression Of the ( n 2 th) degree P.ut

t ing y m x in the e x pression s
, e t c the equatio n
.
,

t ake s the form

m x) — — —2
(J
2 n n n
p P
2 r
,
l x q n_ 2 x n_ l x n_ 2

in which e t c are n umerical q uan t i t ie s D ividing by

.
, .

m
r
a
-
and making x infini t e i t is plain t ha t this give s an infinite
2
, ,

value to y m x ex cep t w /i en p , 0 , H ence in general w e n _ _I .

have a parabolic branch and Me l ine a t infini ty is reg a rded a s a ,

ta ng ent to the cur ve This may be f ur t her e x plained as meaning

.

t hat whereas t he as y mp t ote t o an infini t e branch is the tangent

,

whose poin t of con t ac t is at infini t y a parabolic branch is one ,

for which t he t angen t whose poin t of con t act i s at infinity i s al t o

gether at an infi ni t e distance .

P a r a l lel Asy mp totes

The e x cep t ional case men t ioned in the preceding article

29 .

occurs when the s ubs t i t ut ion y m x reduces the e x pression ,

t o z ero ; t ha t is when contains y m x a s a factor

, , .
 CUR VE TRA CI NG [A r t 29

When thi s is t he ca s e the value of , y m x when x and y

, , ar e

infini t e may be determined by a quadra t ic equ ation

, . For
e xample let the equation of the curve be
,

3 2 z 2 2 ’
x 2x y y an a xy
x 2a x a y o,

which may b e written in the form

( y) ( y)
2 2 z
x x ax 2a x
x a y o .

D ividingby x , and ma k ing y as when x i s infinite we have ,

the equation
( — y) y)
(
’
x + d x -

w hich g ive s

x —y + —
a
and x —y +
d
--
( I
2 2

the e quation s of two parallel as ymptote s .

The ca s e here considered of cour s e include s that in w hich

there are no term s of t he ( n I ) t h degree ; t hat i s when ,

0 It i s to be noticed that the a s ymptote s being de

.
,

te rmine d by a quadratic equation may be imagi nary in which , ,

c a s e there will be no corre s ponding infinite branche s .

30 . in s pection of Fig 9 in which equation ( 1 ) i s placed

An .
,

upon the a nal ytical t riangle S how s that t he curve ,

cuts the a x i s of y at the origin and in two coinc i

dent points at infini t y ; and since it cu t s the line ,

at infinit y bu t once in the direction of t he ax 1s

A of y we infer t hat t h,
e a x is of y is a t angen t a t
Fi9 9 °
infini t y t hat i s to s ay an as ymp t o t e
,
T he ,
.

method gi ven in A rt 2 6 also s how s that the a s ymp t ote i s in

.

thi s ca s e the a x i s i ts elf .

 PARA LL E L A S YM P T O TE S

T he in t er s ections wi t h the ax is of x are determined by

the eq uation

The p oints in dicate d are constructed in 10 ,

together with
t he a s ympto t es deter mined in t he pre
ceding ar t icles I t is evident t ha t a line
.

parallel to t he parallel as ymp t o t es cu t s

t he curve in t w o poin t s a t infini t y and ,

hence each of the s e as ymp t o t e s meets

the curve in t/z ree poin t s a t infin it y ,

and in no o t her point T h us t he curve

.

con s i st s of t hree disco nnec t ed branche s ,

as repre s ented in the diagram .

Ta ng ents

32 T he for m of t he curve is more preci s ely a s certained by

.

de t er mining i t s inclina t ion a t known points D ividing the .

equa t ion of t he curve equa t ion , A rt 2 9 by 2 we have .

, ,

x z — z xy +y +
2
ax — ay
x

Now suppose the point (x y ) moving upon t he c urve to pass

,

through t he origin ; the direc t ion of i t s motion at t he ins t ant

when it reaches t he origin depends upon t he value of the ra t io
2 at this in st an t which may be called t he d i recti on
,
ra t i o of t he
ac

curve a t this poin t This value i s deter mined by pu t ting x

. O

and y O in equation The res ult is

- 2 2
2a a
 C UR VE TRA CJ N C [A r t 3 2

i n w hic h
o

all the ter ms of equat ion ( 2 ) have vanished e x cept

tho s e derived from the terms of t he firs t degree in e q ua t ion
Hence the direc t ion of the cur v e at t he origin is the same a s
tha t of the s traight line whose eq uat ion is for med by e q uat
ing t o z ero the ter ms represen t ed by the point s in Fig 9 .

adj acent to the analy t ical origin Thus .

,

2a x
2
a z
y o ,

y 2x)

i s the equation of the tangent a t t he origin .

33 The tangen t s at the other poin t s where the curve cro ss e s

.

the a xi s of x may be found by a me t hod similar to t hat e m

plo y ed in t he preceding ar t icle Gro uping together the ter ms .

co nt aining t he same power of y equa t ion A r t 2 9 may be , .

,

written in the form

y(
—z )
( )( )
z 2
x x a x 2a -
a
z
ax u ocy 0 .

Now when the point (x y ) moving upon a branch of the curve

, , , ,

pa ss e s through t he poin t (a i ts direction ra t io will be t he,

i
J ’
value of the quan t i t y which would be denoted by .
if
x a

the curve were referred t o the poin t (a , O ) as origin . Fro m

equat ion we derive

whence putting x z
,
a and y r: O in t he s econd me mber we ,

have
 TA N GE N TS

which deter mines t he direction of the c urve at the point (a ,

H ence the s t raight line

3( x a ) ,

which passes t hro ugh this point in the s ame d irection i s the ,

req uired t angent In like manner the equation of the tangent

.
,

at 2 a 0 ) i s fo und to be
,

5y 6 (x 2a ) .

34 .It was s hown in A rt 1 7 t hat the position of an asymp

.
~

tote generall y depends onl y upon the t erm s of the nth and of
the (n I ) t h degree s that is t o say when the e q ua t ion of the
,

curve i s placed on t he anal ytical triangle the a s ymp t ote is de ,

t e rmine d by the terms repre s en t ed by t he marked point s upon

the side A B of the anal y t ical t riangle and upon the adj acent
parallel line The process e x e mplified in t he preceding article
.

S hows tha t in like manner

, t he position of t he tangent at a
,

poin t of in t ersection with the ax is of cc generall y depend s onl y

upon the ter ms no t containing y and t ho s e con t aining the first
power of y which t er ms are represented by the marked point s
,

on the anal yt ical a x is of a: and on t he adj acent parallel line If .

the la tt er term s be wanting the value of y

,
'
will b e infi
23 (l a, o

nite and the t angent will be the line

,
a: z : a, parallel t o the ax i s
of y For e x ample the curve
.
,

x3

cut s t he ax is of x a t t he point — a, and the equation doe s

) O ,

not contain the first power of y ; accordingly we fi n d ,

— a, 0

thus the line ac a is the tan g e nt to the curve .

 CUR VE T R A C/ N G [A rt 35

35 .If the eq uat ion de t er mining t he in t ersec t ion s wi t h the

a x is of cc has a do uble root t he curve is s aid to meet the ax i s of
,

x in tw o coi nc id e nt p oi nts T he nu mera t or of t he value of t he

.

direction ratio found as in A rt 3 3 will in this case contain

, .
,

t he fac t or cc a s uppo s ing (a O) to be the inters ection in

, ,

question hence i t s value will generall y be z ero and t he a x i s of ,

x will be the tangent T hu s in the ca s e of the curve

.
,

3 2
2 a oc2 2 z
x y
oc a x a y O,

the equation for the inter s ec t ions wi t h the ax i s of ac is

of w hich x z: a i s a double roo t and we have ,

H ence y 0 i s the eq ua t ion of t he tangent and the two coin

z ,

e ide nt inter s ection s indica t e tangency to the a x i s of x .

36 If however when x
.
,
a is a double root,
the term s ,

containing the first power Of y be wanting or if t hey contain ,

cc a as a factor the value , Of

x it ]
a
can b e determine d by

a quadratic e q uation a s in the followin g e xample ,

. Let the
equation of t he curve be

= 6y ) ( )
x 3 -
y
3 “ ( 4x
2
w T)
2 a ( 4x o . I
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 37

When t he roo t s are equal we have a cusp or poin t a t which , ,

two branche s mee t with a co mmon t angen t W hen the root s .

are i maginary t here are no real tangen t s ; hence we have an

,

i s olated point or a cnode I t will be no t iced that t he ca s e of

.

parallel as ymp t o t e s e x plained in A rt 2 9 is analogou s to the

, .
,

node ; accordingl y a curve wi t h parallel as y mp t o t es i s said t o

,

have a node a t i nfini ty If t he as y mp t otes or t angents at t he

.
,

node at infini t y are found t o be coinciden t we have a cu s p at

, ,

infini t y ; and if the y are found to be imaginary the curve i s s ai d ,

to have an acnode a t infinity .

I nter section o
f a Cur oe w it/t a Ta ng ent

38 .Since a t angent to a c urve mee ts the curve in two coin

e iden t poin t s a t the poin t of con t a c t i t c an meet the c urve in ,

only n 2 o t her poin t s the curve bei ng Of t he nt h degree

,
.

H ence if we elimina t e one of t he variables be t ween the e q ua

,

tion s of the curve and a t angent t he re s ult will be an e q ua t ion ,

of the ( n 2 ) t h degree T his circu ms t ance facili t at es t he de

.

t ermination Oi particular poin ts which may be useful in t r acing

the c urve I n par t icular if t he c urve be a cubic t he eq uation
.
, ,

will be of t he fir s t degree and the single poin t of i nt ersec t ion

,

de t er mined will have ra t ional coordina t es For e x a mple t he .

,

equa t ion of the t angen t at t he origin t o t he c ur ve cons t ructed

in Fig 1 0 page 2 3 was found in A rt 3 2 t o be
.
, , .

y 2x .

Su bst i t uting in t he equa t ion Of t he cur v e equation , A rt . 2 9,

3
n
2 z
2 ? 0
x 2 cry an a xy 2a x a y ,

we have
 I I] IN TE RS E C TI ON OF CUR VE WI TH A S YM P T O TE

R ej ecting t he factor cc which correspond s to the two c o inci

z
,

den t poin ts a t the origin we h ave cc a ; hence t he poin t

,

(a,2 a ) is a point of the curve .

I nter s ection o
f a Cur oe w itfi an Asy mp tote

39 Since an a s y mptot e is a tangent who s e point of contact

.

is at in fi ni t y t he re mark s made in t he preceding ar t icle apply

,

also t o t he in t er s ection Of a c urve wi t h i t s as ymp t otes I n par .

t icular a c ub i c cuts each of i t s as y mp t otes in a single point

, .

When t he c ubic ha s three real as y mp t ote s it i s convenient to ,

deter mine t he three points of in t ersection at once by com

bining wi t h t he equation of t he curv e the equa t ion which
represen t s the three asy mp t o t e s Thi s equation will be a.

cubic agreeing wi t h the eq ua t ion of the curve in t he terms

Of t he t hird and of t he s econd degree for it follow s from ,

A rt 1 7 t ha t c urves having the sa me as y mptote s mus t agree

.

in the t er ms of t he nt h and ( n I ) t h degree s If t herefore .

, ,

we s ub t rac t t his e q uat ion from t ha t of the given curve we ,

shall have an eq ua t ion of the firs t degree which must be

sa t isfied by each of t he three in t ersec t ions ; in other words ,

t he eq uat ion of a s traight line c utt ing the three a s y mp tot es

in t he req uired point s .

40 . For e x ample let the equation of t he curve b e

,

2 —
y + +
2 2
x xy 2x 3 y
x

T he eq uations of the as ympto t es are

2 = 0 , y 2
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 4 0

Multipl ying these eq uations we have for the equa t ion of the , ,

three asy mp t o t es in combinat ion ,

- 2
3 y 2
y
-
x

H ence t he equation Of the s traigh t line pa ss ing t h ro ugh the

point s of in t ersec t ions
IS

5
x y 6 0 .

Co mbining thi s equa ~

tion wi t h t he s e p ara t e
equations of the asymp
to t es we find the poi nts
,

of inter s ec t ion to be
( 2 , g
" 2 ) and
“

T he asymptotes
and the line Of inter
s ection are con s tructed
Fig 11 .
in Fig I I T he curve
. .

a no d e at the origin , which tangent s are

x — 2y = o, 2x +y = o ;

hence the form of the curve i s tha t indicated in the fi gure .

E xa mp l e s II

( + y ) (y
2 2 z
I . oc oc d o .

3 z 2
2 .
y x y xy 2x

3 . x z
y
—y e
x + oc 2
4y
2
O .
 E XA M PL E S

4 . x
2 2
+ 3 y
x 3
+ x 2 — xy — 2y 2 = o .

z z 2 2
4y 0
5 . x y y x x .

6 . a5 3
2 a oc
2
s
3
a x y 2 a3 y
2
y
5 0 .

7 .
—y + 2
x —
y o .

8 ( ) (y R) b
2 ” 2 z Z
. x a a .

x (y
2 — x)
9 .

0 .
( x _
y )
2 2 2
a
2
( x
2
+y 2
) .

x (y ac)
‘
z z
1 1 . a y o .

3 xy
z
a xy ay 2
o
1 2 . x 3 .

4( + y) 8
’
13 xy x

14 . x3 4 y
1c .
2
32
4
1 2 xy I 2y 2
8x 2y 4
1 5 .
(y 2x ) (y °
) x 2
a w x )
?
4 0 2
0 6 y)
(y 2x ) ( 4y )
? " 2 2
x a 9 x Q

(r ) (y ex ) 4 (y ) 16 0 )
2 ?
x x 2x 0
— a)
8 ( y )(
g 2 z
1 . as x a y o .

1 9 .
y (y x ) (y 2
2x
) 3 0
0 x ) x
’
z a x
’ ’
0 .

z 2 z 2 2
20 . coy 3 y
x 4 x z y 0 .
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 4 1

App r ox i ma te For ms of Cur r/ es

41 . W HE N t he eq ua t ion of a curve is placed upon the an

al t ical triangle t he ab s ence of the term represented b t he
y , y
analytical origin indica t e s t ha t t he c urve pa s ses through t he
origin of coordinates and we have s een in A rt 3 2 that the re .

s ult of eq uat ing to z ero the t er ms of t he first degree is t he

equation of the tangent to the curve at t he or i g i n th at i s to ,

sa the st raight line which appro x i ma t es mos t closel to t he

y
, y
curve at t hat point A ccordingl y if onl y one of t he term s of
.
,

the fir s t degree occurs in the e q uat ion of t he curve the tangent ,

is one of t he coordina t e a x e s ; and i t is now to b e shown t hat

we can in t hi s ca s e wi t h equal facili t y de t ermine a clo s er ap
, ,

r o x i mation t o the for m of t he curve at t he ori g in

p .

42 . For e x ample let the given equa t ion be

,

x
2
3 )
n
a I
( )
which place d upon t he anal yt ical tria ngle in Fig 1 2 The . .

t angent at the origin i s t he l ine x 0 the a x i s z :

,

if being in fi nite at the origin t he

of y . T he ratio ,
x

if may have a finite value when cc and y

x
vani s h s i multaneo us ly . D ividing equa t ion ( I ) b y
§ I I I ] A P P R OXI M A TE FORM S AT TH E R GI N
O I

and ma k in g
, x an d y eac h equal z ero in thi s equation we have ,

hence the equation

in which this ratio ha s con s tan t l y the s ame value a s that

a ss igned by eq ua t ion repre s en t s a curve ap p roxi
mating to the for m of t he given c urve at the origin .

This appro x i ma t ing curve i s the parabola y ax

2
,

which touches t he a x is of y and lie s on i t s right

hence t he form of the curve at the origin i s a s rep
re s en t ed in Fig 1 3 . .

App r ox ima te For ms at I nfi nity

43 The ab s ence of t he term repre s ented b y the v erte x A

.

of the a nal ytical triangle indicates as e x plained in A rt 2 5 that , .

,

t he c ur v e passe s t hrough the in t ersection of t he a x i s of x with

the line at in fi ni t y ; and it i s S hown in A rt 2 6 that when thi s .
,

i s th e ca s e the re s ult of p utting equal to z ero th e ter ms con

,

taining th e highest power of x which occur s in the equation i s

the e q uat ion of t he a s y mp t ote parallel to the a x i s of x It will .

be convenient t o refer to t hi s poin t a t infin it y a s the point A

thus as in the case of t he origin t he equa t ion of the tangent
, ,

at the point A con s i s t s of the ter ms represen t ed by t he point s

of the analy t ical triangle adj acen t t o the verte x A A ccord .

ing ly w hen a s in Fig 1 2 the term represen t ed by the point

, , .
,

on t he a nalytical a x is of x adj acen t to the verte x A is ab s ent ,

the t angent at A i s the line y O t he a x is of x a s e x plained , ,

in A rt 30 ; but in t his case a s in t he analogous case at the

.
, ,

ori g in we can wi t h e qu al facilit y de t ermine a clo s er app rox ima

,
 [A r t 43

ti on to the form of t he curve at the infi nite ly di s tant point A .

Since for a poin t P moving on the infini t e branch passing

,

through A y becomes z ero a s x become s infinite t he value of

, ,

xy ma remain fini t e D ividing the equation of the curve

y .
,

equation A rt 4 2 throughout by x we have

.
, ,

xy + a

Ma k ing x 00 and y 0 in thi s equation we , fi nd

H ence the hyper b ola

xy — a
2 = o

appro xi mate s clo s el y to t he re mote portion s of the infinite

branch pa ss ing through A T his h y perbola lies in the fir s t
.

and third quadran t s

we infer therefore , ,

that the infi nite branch

having the ax is of x
as an asymptote lie s
Fig 14 . above the ax i s on the
right an d b elow it on the left a s in Fig 1 4 , .

44 . Fig 1 2 s hows tha t t he curve passe s al so through the

.

in t ersec t ion of the line at infi nit y with the a x is of y which we ,

S hall call t he point B ; and t he ab s ence of the term represented

by t he point adj acent to B on t he s ide A B of t he anal ytical

triangle indicates as e x plained in A rt 2 7 t hat t he line at in
, .
,

fi nity is t he t angent at B ; in o t her words that the infini t e ,

branch pa ss ing thro ugh B is parabolic I n t his case also we .

can deter mine an ap p ro x i ma tio n to t he f or m of t he infi nit e

 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A rt 4 6

46 . T he general for m of the curve being indicat e d by t he v

po s ition s of the appro x imating curve s i t i s of cour s e unne ce s

,

s ary t o con st ruct the la t te r ,

unless an accurate drawing is

desired It i s however use
.
, ,

ful to notice t h at when the ,

X appro x i mating curve at the

or i g i n 1S a co mmon parabola ,

the radiu s of c urvature at the

origin i s one half the coe ffi
cien t of the coordinate whose
Fig 15
-
fir st power occur s when the ,

coeffi cient of the s quare i s uni t y For e xample equa t ion

.
,

A rt 4 2 i s
.
,

The equation of the circle who s e radiu s i s 5a and which ,

touche s the ax i s of y a t the origin is ,

y +
2
x
2 =
= O.

The metho d of A rt 4 2 give s for thi s circle the s ame ap proxi

.

mating parabola as for the given curve The circle is therefore

.

a s good an appro x ima t ion a s the para b ola i s to t he given curve .

Gener a l M eté od f
o D eter mi ni n
g tn e E
q ua ti ons o
f
App r ox i ma te Cur nes

47 .The proce ss of finding t he equa t ion s of appro x imating

curves , illu s tra t ed in t he prece d in g article s consi st s in the
,
§ : I II] E Q UA TI ONS OF A P P R OXI M A TE C UR VE S

rej ection of certain terms of the given equa t ion which vani s h ,

a t the origin or at one of t he infini t ely dis t ant po ints A or B .

The s e t hree poin t s which are called tfi e funda menta l p oints

, ,

may b e regarded as corresponding t o the three ver t ices of the

analytical t riangle We shall now s how that two of t he
.
,

marked poin ts when the equation of a curve i s placed upon

,

t he anal yt ical triangle being j oined by a s traight line if , ,

tn ere a r e no ma rk ed p oi nts on Me s a me s i de o f tk e l i n e w i t/c

one o f tne ve rtices o

f tb e a na ly tica l tr ia n l e
g tb e te r m s rep re ,

s ented by the poi nts s i tua ted p

u on t/i is l i ne w i l l cons ti tute the
eq ua ti on f
o an a
pp rox i ma te cur ve a t t/ce cor res
p ond i ng f unda

menta l p oi nt .

48
W e s hall prove this proposi t ion fi r s t when the verte x in
.

q uestion is the a nalytical origin Since .

t here is a t leas t one marked point upon

each anal ytical a x is the line mus t in thi s ,

case c ut both analytical a x e s like the ,

line CD in Fig 1 6 Le t p q be t he ana

. .
,

lyt ical coordina t es of one of the two Fig 16 -

point s and p , r q s t ho s e of t he other ; s o that the term s

,

repre s en t ed by t he s e poin t s are of t he form

Lx l’ 4I
y f f
y q 8
.

R epre s en tthe anal ytical coordinat e s of any other point upon

t he line by p q B in which and B
a,m a
y b e fractional , a .

Let us s uppo s e t hat the equation co ntains a term repre s en t ed

by thi s point ; then the ter ms represented by the t hree point s
will be of the form

E x cy q M xfi ‘

f
y
+
9 s Nx c
-
a
q ,

in which N 0 if the suppo s ed term does not act ually occur

 C UR VE TR A CI NG [A r t 4 8

in the equation Now let the e q ua t ion of the curve be divided

.

through by x fy q ; th e s e term s t hen beco me

L + M£ + N
W
?
or

From Fig . 16 we have , by S imilar triangle s ,

s o that put t ing y for the value of either member of thi s equa
,
‘

tion we may wri t e [3

, 7s
y r and t he term s ( )
2
, may be
0 .
,

written

L + M + N
fl

If then
, , we su ppo s e the ratio t o remain finite when the point
P, moving upon the curve pa ss e s t hrough the , o rigin the
,
'

,B
2
“

W I ll al s o rema i n fin i te .

0.
x

49 Now con s ider any marked point not s ituated upon t he

.

line : s uch a point is by h ypo t hesis on the upper S ide of the

line ; it t herefore represen t s a t er m containing a higher power
of y t han i t would if while containi ng t he same power of x i t
, ,

were represented by a poin t upon the lin e H ence af t er the .

,

equation i s divided by xfy Q the term will be of the form

’
,

where t i s po s itive ; and when x and y are each put equal to

,

z ero thi s term will vanish

, The re s ulting equa t i o n wi ll the r e
.
 I I I] E Q UA TI ON S OF A P P R OX/ M A TE C UR VE s

fore contain onl y t he t er ms which are represented by poin ts

on t he line ; hence t hese t er ms con st i t ut e the equation of an
appro x i ma t e form at the origin .

50 . In
ne x t place t he line having the s ame po s ition as
t he ,

in Fig 1 6 le t us s uppose all t he mark ed point s not upon t he

.
,

line to be upo n t he lower si de of the line ,

as in Fig 1 7 T hen u s ing t he s ame no

. .
,

t at ion as before when t he equation is ,

divided thro ugh by x y t he t er ms r e p r e

e q
,

sen t ed by poin t s on the line will t ake the

sa me for m a s in e x pression A rt 4 8 . .

E very o t her ter m con t ains a lower power

of y t han i t w ould if while con t aini ng t he same power of x i t
, ,

were repre s en t ed by a point on t he line ; it will therefore take

t he for m

N ow, if we s uppose the ra t io Z to re main ?

fi ni t e when x and y
x

bo t h beco me infini t e this t er m will vanish The resulting

, .

eq uat ion will as before consist only of the ter ms repre s ented
, ,

by poin t s on t he line ; but it will in thi s ca s e repre s ent a form

a t infinit y .

51 Since the side A B of t he an aly tical t riangle mus t con

.

t a in at least one marked poin t i t mus t meet t he line CD ,

be t ween i t s in t ersec t ions C and D wi t h t he anal ytical ax es

, , .

If r z s A B will coinc ide wi t h CD and t he proce ss is in fact

, ,

t he same as t ha t given in A rt 1 5 t o determine the val ue of the

.

ra t io of y t o x when x and y are infini t e B ut s uppos e that s .

is less than r as repre s en t ed in Fig I 7 ; in t his case when x

, .
,

and y are both infinite and if is finite Z is readil y seen ”

, to be
x x
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A rt 5 1

infini t e so that th e infinite point on the branch in que s tion i s

,

the f unda men t al poin t B A ccordi ngly we find t hat in t his

.

ca s e ( see Fig I 7) B i s t he verte x of the a nal ytical triangl e

.

which i s on t hat side of t he lin e CD on which there are no

mark ed poin t s in conformi t y with the enunciation of the propo
,

s it ion in A rt 4 7 Since x and y are bo t h infini t e the result

. .
,

indicate s a parabolic branch at the funda mental point B ; and ,

in like manner if s be greater than r we shall have a parabolic

, ,

branch at the fundamental point A .

52 . I n the third place let t he line cut one of the anal yt ical
,

a x e s produced ; for e x ample let it cut the anal ytical ax is of y

,

below the origin a s in Fig 1 8 Since the analyt ical ax is of

, . .

y mu st con t ain at leas t one marked point ,

all the marked poin t s no t on the line are by

h y pothe s i s above it thu s A i s t he ver t e x to
be considered and t he c urve passe s t hrough ,

Fig 18 . the f unda men t al point A Let t he analyt i .

cal coordinate s oi the point s be p q and p r q s ; the , ,

te rm s repre s ented being of the for m

Ln q c r
y e s
,

D enoting the anal y tical coordinat es of any other point of t he

line by p q B
a, t he ter m which wo
,
uld be repre s e nted b y
t hat point i s of the form
N xP - -
t a
y Q t
--
B .

D ividing the equation through by xe Q

y , the term s in que st io n
become
L Mx ’
y
‘
N x y fi, a

which S ince
,
Q 9, may be written in t he form
s r

L Mx ’
y
s
N (x y r s
) 7
.
 I I I] E Q UA TI ON S OF A P P R OXI M A T E C UR VE S

Now when the point (x y ) recede s fro m the origin indefinitely

, ,

on the branch pa ss ing through the fundamental point A if ,

we s uppo s e tha t a s x become s infini t e y b ecome s z ero b ut x y

, ,
t s

‘3 "
rem ai n s finite x y will al s o remain finite
,
‘
.

53 Now con s i d er the term repre s ente d b y any mar k ed

.

point no t on t he line Such a point i s by hy pothe s i s above

.

the line ; hence the term contains a higher power of y than

it wo uld if while containing the s ame power of x it were rep re
, ,

s en t ed by a point on the line T hu s after the equation i s .

,

divide d through by x y the term will ta k e the form

f’ q
,

and when y becom e s z ero it will vani s h The re s ultin g equa

, , .

tion will t herefore a s before con t ain only the term s repre s ented
, ,

b y poin t s on t he line ; and it will in t hi s ca s e b e an appro x imate

form at the fundamental point A .

54 Finally s uppo s e the line t o be parallel to one of the

.
,

anal yt ical a x es for e xample to t he a x is of y s o that the curve

, ,

passes t hro ugh the f undamen t al poin t A Then u s ing the s a me .

,

notation as in t he preceding ar t icles w e s hall have r O an d , ,

e xpres s ion A rt 52 will become .

,

I n this case we mu s t regard y a s re maining fi nite when x b e

co mes infinite ; and s ince all the marked point s not on the line
,

are on the lef t of it t he terms represented by the s e poin t s con

,

tain powers of x lower than cc ; hence when x i s made infinite

l ’
,

after dividing by x i the s e ter ms will vanish a s before The

’
, .

re s ul t ing equa t ion will de t er mine one or more finite value s of

y when x is infi n ite ; that i s one or more as y mptote s paral l el to
,

the a x i s of x a s in A rt 2 6
,
. .
 C UR VE TRA CI NG [A
’

rt 55

Tfie Ana ly tica l P olyg on

55 If when th e equation of a curve has been place d upon

.
,

th e anal ytical t riangle the marked point s are j oined by s traight

,

line s in s uch a manner a s to form a con ve x poly gon e x teri or to

which there i s no mar k ed poin t t he re s ult is called th e a na ly ti
,

ca l
p tyg
o o n T hi s polygon
. will have at leas t one verte x l y ing
in each s ide of the analytical t riangle and i t may have a s ide ,

lying in either s ide of the triangle In the case of s uch a side .

of the polygon t he re s ult of equating the corresponding term s

,

to z ero d eter mines simpl y t he intersectio ns of the curve with

one of the a x es or with the line at infi nit y In all other ca s es .
,

the equation corresponding to a side of the poly gon determine s

an appro x imate form at one of the fundamen t al point s in ac ,

c ordanc e wi t h t he theore m proved in the preceding art icles .

In the example gi ven in A rt 4 2 the pol ygon red uce s t o a tri

.
,

angle having no side coinciding with a s ide of the analy t ical

triangle the c urve accordingly pa ss e s through each f unda
mental point and each s ide of t he polygon give s an appro x imate
,

form at one fundamental point .

Cons tr uction o
f tk e App r ox ima ting Cur ves

56 .If a S ide of t he anal yt ical polygon when produce d c uts

b o t h a x e s as in Fig s 1 6 and 1 7 and contains no marke d poin t
, .
,

e x cept it s e x t re mi t ie s the e q ua t ion of the corresponding ap

,

p r o x im a t ing c urve will be of t he for m

L acey ? M ace r
y e 8

( s ee A rt . or rej ecting a co mmon factor

, ,

L x " I ll ) ”
0 .
 C UR VE TR A CI rVG [A r t 5 8

58 . A gain , let t he equation corresponding to a S ide of t he

polygon be
z
0
d } ,
,

Since ha s the same sign a s x 3 x and y mu s t have the s am e

x ,

S ign and t he c urve lies in the first and

,

third q uadrants The a x i s of x i s t he tan .

gen t at the origin ; hence the for m is th a t

indica t ed in Fig 2 0 t he curve being in .
,
e

this case a cubica l pa ra bola If this be an .

appro x i ma t e form at t he origin the given ,

curve ha s a p oint of i nfl ecti on at that poin t ;

Fig 2 0 .

bu t if it be a for m a t infini t y t he given

, ,

curve ha s parabolic branche s in the firs t a nd t hird q uadran t s

tending to paralleli s m t o the a x is of y and it is said t o to uch ,

the line at in fi ni t y at the f undamen t al poin t B .

59 If the S ide of t he pol y gon when produced cut s one of

.

the ax e s produced a s in Fig 1 8 and contains no marked point s

, .
,

e x cept it s e xtremi t ie s t he equation of the appro x imating curve

,

i s of the form
s ’ ?
y i +r
y q +s

L Mx y ’ ’
0 .

Suppo s ing a s b efore that r and s are prime to one another

, , ,

equat ion ( 1 ) represents one of the famil y of curve s k nown as

tb c byp er bol a s having bo t h a x es a s as y mp t ote s
, If r z 1 and .

s 1 we have t he co mmon h perbola as in Fig 1 5 page 36

z
, y , .
, .

Since r and s cannot both be even the curve will alway s be ,

p o s sible ; i t will
‘

con s is t of two b ranches and it i s ea s y to ,

 I I I] CON S TR UC TI ON OF A P P R OXI MA TE CUR VE S

determine the quadran t s in which the s e branche s lie . For

e x a mple let the equatio n be
,

z 3
xy 2a

3
2 62 .

Since y i s posi t ive whatever he the s ign of

2
x mu s t be nega
t ive he nc e t he branches lie in the s econ d t hird quadrant s ,

as in Fig 2 1 If t his be an ap p rox i

. .

ma t e form for the fundamental point

A it indicates that the given c urve ha s
,

branche s approaching as an a s y mp t ot e
the left end of the axi s of x on both
S ides but if it be an appro xi mate
,

form for the fundamen t al point B it ,

indicate s that the curve ha s branche s

approaching bo t h end s of the ax is of
y on the left side .

Sides of the P olyg on R ep r esenti ng mor e tha n One

Appr ox ima te For m

60 . When a s ide of t he pol y gon contain s any other point

of t he anal ytical t riangle e x cept it s ext re mi
tie s the corresponding eq uation represent s
,

two or more appro x imat e form s at the s ame

f undamental point For e x ample le t the .
,

eq ua t ion of t he given curve be

s ’ 5
zy
s xy x

Fig 2 2 .

which i s placed upon t he analytical triangle in Fig 2 2 The . .

side A C of t he analyt ical polygon which in thi s ca s e reduce s ,

 SI D E S OF TH E P OL YG ON [A rt 6 0

to a triangle pas s e s through the point whose analy t ical

, co

or d inate s are ( 3 T he corresponding equatio n is

,

W x5

2
y

which may b e regar d ed a s a q uadratic equation to dete r mine

t he ratio of y to x Solving we have ”
.
,

i vg
z
y i r
d c ,

the equa t ion s of t wo appro x i ma t e for ms at t he

Fig 2 3 .

origin The form a t t he origin indicated b y

.

thi s s ide i s therefore t hat s hown in Fig 2 3

, ,
. .

61 . The s ide BC in Fig . 22 give s the appro x imate form

which in d icates another b ranch pa ss ing through the origin ,

touching t he a x i s of y and ly ing in the fi r s t and thir d quad

,

rant s The s i d e AB give s

.

5
1 2 / y
. x o

for the only real point at infinit y and , abs ence f term s
o

repre s ented by point s on the adj a cen t

parallel line ( s ee A rt 1 7) s hows tha t .

t he a s ymptote pa ss es t hro ugh t he ori

gin T he curve doe s not cut t he a x e s
.

or t he asymptote e x cept at the origin ,

and it i s s ymme t rical in oppo s i t e quad

rant s ; hence i ts form is that repr o
Fis 2 4
s ented in Fig 2 4 . .
§ I I I ] RE PRE S E N TI N G M ORE TH A N ON E R
FO M

62 In general whenever a side of t he anal yt ical pol ygon

.
,

is d ivi ded in t o seg men t s by poin t s having in t egral coordina t es ,

whet her t he y be mar k ed poin t s or not t he n umber of t hese ,

seg men t s indicates t he degree of t he corresponding equa t ion ,

and hence the nu mber of appro x imate for ms represen t ed by

the s ide .

63T he eq ua t ion corresponding t o a side con s i st ing of two

.

or more s eg me nt s may have a pair of imaginary

roots For e x a mple le t t he e q uation of the
.
,

curve be
2 4 2 3 5 6
x y 2a x
y a y a

for which t he anal yt ical pol ygon is drawn in 0

Fig 2 5 T he S ide OC of t he anal yt ical poly gon

. .

gives for t he appro x ima t e for ms a t t he fundamental point

,
A,

W ( )
4 6
a o, 2

which I mpos s ible because i t gives i maginar y values to

, t he
product xy There are t herefore no infinite
2
.
, ,

branches in t he direc t ion of t he a x is of x .

T he side CD gives for the fundament al ,

poin t B t he appro x i ma t e for m

,

24 2
: ( 3)
indicat ing branches in th e second an d fourth
q uadrant s having the a x is of y for an
as ymp t o t e T he side D E give s for the
.
,

s a me funda men t al poin t ,

( 4)

indic at ing branches in the first and four t h

q uadran ts which it is readil y seen are much clo s er to the a x i s
,
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 6 3

of y than tho s e corresponding to equation The side E O

give s y a for the in t er s ection with the a x is of y
z : The cu rve .

ha s therefore the form repre s ented in Fig 2 6 The positio n of . .

the branche s i s more preci s ely de t ermined by s olving the equa

t ion for x and d etermining the li miting val ue s of y the s e are
found to be

E xa mp l e s III

1 .
y
4 z a ny 3 ax 3 o .

x3 y
— 3 y
x 3

3x 3 2
2x y o
y
-
x .

4 y .
4 i 6x 4 x
2
4 y
x o .

4
5 . x
6
6 z 4 3 2 3 2
o
. x a y a x y a x y .

7 . x 4 x
z
y y
3 o .

¢
6 ax y
z 2
8 . x 4 x
z
y
2
a y o.

9 . x5 bx 4 d3 y
z
o .

2 2
’
x 3 an ay o
10 .
y x .

x4
4 2
2 a xy 0
1 1 .
y .

M o x5 y
5
s ax 3
y o .

5n
5
1
5 x 5 +y o .

6
2
1 4 “ a ny 0
x y .

¢ 2
a3
2
17 . x5 2a x y y o .

18 y
z 2
5 . d x4 a xy 0 .

6
0 )
2 2 2 ?
c
1 9 “ 7 6 y a .

20 Sa xy z
8ax 3 0 .

( y ) (y )
2
3
2 2
4 1
2 1 . x 2x 4 ,

(y )
2 2 2 2 2
x 2a x
2 2 .
y .

z z
3 0
2 3 90 xy d
y .

24 ° ”
2
0
2
5 J
“
) 4 4
2
96
2
6d ? 2

25 fl a
w x
z
) (y 2x )
 S E C OI VD A P P R OX I M A TI ON S

Second App r ox ima tions

64 . W E have seen t h at when a side of t he analy tic al pol y

,

gon coincides w i t h a side of t he anal y t ical triangle t he corre,

s p o nd ing e q ua t ion gives onl y the poi nt s of in t ersec t ion wi t h

one of t he f unda men t al lines t ha t is wi t h one of t he coordinate

,

a x es or wi t h t he line a t infini t y ; wha t is reall y deter mined in

,

t he latt er case being t he direc t ion of an as y mp t o t e The .

me t hod of ob t a ining t he posi t ion of t he t angen t line or firs t

app r ox i ma ti on t o t he c urve at one of t hese poin t s of in t ersec t ion

is e x plained in A r t s 1 6 and 3 3 B ut when t he intersec t ion in

. .
,

q u es t ion is one of t he f unda men t al poin t s we have

, a s ide of t he
pol y gon w hich gives a t once t he fir st appro x i mation or tangent
a t t he funda men t al poin t .

W e have also seen t hat if t he side of the pol ygon is par

,

allel t o one side of t he anal ytical t riangle so t hat i t corre

,

s p o nd s t o t he sa me nu mber of in t ersec t ions wi t h t wo of t he

funda men t a l lines i t gives t he firs t appro x ima t ion only ; b ut

,

o t herwise the funda men t al line wi t h w hich t he side indica t e s

t he grea t es t n umber of in t ersec t ions is i t self t he t angen t and ,

t he side gives a s econd app r ox i ma ti on de t er mining in fac t

, , ,

u p on which side of t he t angen t t he c urve lies in t he ne i ghbor

hood of t he f u nd a men t a l po in t W e hav e now to S how how

.

t his second appro x i mat ion can be de t er mined in t hose cases

in which t he side of the polygon giv es onl y t he firs t app rox i
mation
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 6 5

65 . Let us take for illu s tra t ion the curve whose equat ion

x
2
y
3
+ xy 3 —x + 2
x =
y o,
-

for which the a nal ytical polygon i s drawn in Fig 2 7 The . .

S ide CD gives for t he tangent a t the origin the , ,

F equation
x —y = o .

D E Now the val ue of the qu ant it y x y when (x

y) , ,
Fig 2 7
i s a po i n t of t he c urve de t er mi nes t he po si t i on of
.

t he curve wi t h respect to t he tangen t ; s ince obvio usl y if thi s , ,

quanti t y is p o s it iv e t he c urve is on the righ t of t he tangent

, _
,

while if i t is nega t ive t he curve is on t he left of t he tangent

, .

I n the process of finding t he e q uation of t he tangen t as in ,

A rt 3 2
.
,
we s how t hat at t he origin the ra t io
? has t he value
— —
x y x y
unit y ; t herefore O at t hat poin t and , 2
which is
x x

the ra t io t his last q u an t i t y bears to x may have a finite val ue ,

when x z y o r: . D ividing equation ( I ) by x we have 2

,

in which making y z ,
x 0, we have

Fig . 28

an d since x is essential ly po s i t ive we infer that x

,
2
y is posi ,

tive on both sides of the origin Thu s t he for m of the curve .

at the or i g i n i s that in d icat e d in Fig 2 8 . .

 CUR V E TRA CI N G [ Art 6 7

67 .T he side E F in Fig 2 7 gives for t he t angen t s a t t he

.
,

funda men t al poin t A that is t o s ay the asy mp t o t es parallel t o

, ,

the ax i s of x ,

of which y I is the onl y real root A rranging the t erm s .

according to power s of x equa t ion ( I ) may be written

,

c o s I ) x
o i 1
) 0 .

Now in finding t he as ymp t o t e y

,
I O as in A r t 2 6 we r:
, .
,

S how t ha t y I which meas ures t he dis t ance of t he c urve

,

fro m t he as y mp t o t e v a nishes when x beco mes infini t e ; hence

,

x (y I ) may have a fini t e val ue when x increase s wi t hout

limit Fro m eq ua t ion (4) we ha v e

.

U ) (y +y + ) +y
’ 3
x I I I

in which putting y z
,
1 and x 00 we have

My I ) 2

which t herefore represen t s a second appro x imation t o the form

of t he c urve when x is very
grea t I n e q ua t ion y 1 .

is posi t ive when x is nega t i v e ,

a nd neg a t ive when cc is posi

t ive ; hence we infer t ha t t he

Fig 2 9
.

posi t ion of t he c urve wi t h r e

s pec t t o i t s as y mp t o t e is t ha t represen t ed in Fig 2 9 . .

68 . In like manner t he side ,

PG of the pol ygon gives t he
 IV ] SE C ON D A P P R OXI M A TI ON S AT I N FI N I TY

as ymp t o t e cc 1 . A rranging the term s of the equation

according to power s of y, we have

y
3x
( x + 1) — y

D ividing b y the highe s t power of y which occur s e x cept in the

fi rs t t er m, the equation ta k e s the form

n e
w I )

from which we s ee t hat if we make y in fi nite an d

,
x

y (
2
x 1 ) will h ave a fini t e value t hus

— I = °

is the s econd appro x i mation Since y i s e ss entiall y po s itive

.
2
,

t his eq ua t ion s hows t ha t cc I is negative both for po s itive

and for nega t ive val ues of y ; in o t her words t he branch e s to ,

which x 1 is t he a s y mptote lie on it s left at both end s of

the as ymptote .

69 T o co mplete t he con s truction of the curve we have

.
,

t he side C C of the polygon giving for another appro x imate ,

for m a t B ,

2 1 1,

which show s that the curve has branche s a s y mp t o t ic to the a x i s

of y in t he first and fo ur t h quadr a n t s T he side D E give s t he .

in t ersec t ion ( 1 O) wi t h t he ax is of x and t he t angent at thi s

, ,

poin t is fo und to be t he line whose equation is

x + y = 1 .

The result s thu s far determined are co ns truc t ed in Fig .

30 .
 CUR VE TRA C/ MO [A rt 70

70 The c urve is of t he fift h degree ; b ut since t here are

.
,

three as ymp t o t e s parallel t o t he a x is of x al t hough two of

,

t hem are i maginary a line parallel to t he ax is of x meet s the

,

curve t hree t i me s a t the f unda men t al poin t A which is accord,

ing ly said t o be a triple point of

t he cur ve H ence t he asymp
.

to t e y I which is a t angen t
,

at A can meet t he c urve in

,

onl y one o t her poin t A ccord .

ing ly p utt ing y

, I in the
equa t ion of t he c urve equatio n ,

A rt 6 7 we obtain
.
,

an eq uation of the first d egree ,

Fig 3 0
. giving t he point (3 I ) a s the ,

inter s ection of the curve with t he asy mptote .

71 . In like manner a line parallel to t he ax is of y meet s

,

the curve twice a t t he f unda mental poin t B and can cut the ,

c urve in onl y t hree other poin t s B ut t he a x i s of y itself c ut s

.

t he curve in on ly one o t her poin t a nd mee ts the branch t o

,

w hich i t is t he t angen t a t B in t hree coinciden t points at the

poin t of con t ac t like t he t angen t a t an ordinary poin t of in
,

fl e x i on The as y mp t o t e cc
. I has t he s a me charac t er ; and

accordingl y p ut t ing x
,
1 in the e q ua t ion of t he curve we ,

fi nd

giving the s ingle point of intersec t ion

72 T here can be no doub t as t o t he method of j oining

.

t he branches now determine d e x cept in the case of those in t he

,
 IV] TH E B RA N CH E S D E TE R M / N E E

firs t q uadran t T o re move t his re maining uncer t ain t y le t us

.
,

consider t he in t ersection of t he curve wi t h t he tangent line

w hose equa t ion is
x + y = 1 .

T he res ul t of eli minating cc from the equation of t he curve b y

means of this equation is

an eq ua t ion which is easily sho w n t o have no neg ative root s .

B ut writing it in the form

,

(y I ) 3 = yc

i t ob v io usl y has no posi t ive root les s than t wo I t s onl y real .

roo t is in fac t a bo ut H ence the branches mus t be j oined

a s in Fig 30. .

Selection of the Ter ms w h ich D eter mi ne the nex t

App r ox i ma tion

73 . I t will be no t iced t ha t t he addi t ional t er ms e mplo yed ,

when we proceed t o t he ne x t appro x i ma t ion abo ve t ha t given

by t he side of t he pol ygo n as in A r t s 6 5 and 6 7 are t hose
, .
,

represen t ed by poin t s si t ua t ed upon t he ne x t adj acen t line

parallel t o t he S ide of t he pol ygon e x ac t l y as in t he case of
,

finding the firs t appro x i ma t ion w hen t he side of t he pol yg on

gives onl y poin t s of t he c urve Co mpare A r t 34
. If t his . .

parallel line con t ains no marked poin t s or if t he t er ms r e p r e ,

s en t ed are divisible by t he fac t or corresponding t o t he side of

t he pol ygon we mu s t e mplo y the t er ms on t he neares t parallel
,

line for which t he y are not so di visible T his is ill u stra t ed .

,

in the case of bo t h clas s es of S ides in the following e x ample

, .
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A rt 74

74 . Let t he e q ua t ion of t he curve be

M "
96 3 x
” x
2
y
"
( ) I

for which the anal yt ical pol ygon is drawn in Fig 3 1 . . The s ide
CD gives the tangent s a t t he origin

x —y = o x + y = o .

The ter ms represented by the ne x t parallel line

are
— y3
90 3
( + y ) ( )
2
x x} 2

Now in the case of the t angent x y we have after put

0, ,

ting x y in the coe fficient s of x y in equation

— y ) + 3x x — y ) + =
2
( ac
( 90 3 0

Thi s equation S how s that when x y o x

, y ha s a finite z :
,

ratio t o x ; for x ( x
3
y) bears a vanishing ra t io to x y .

Th u s t he ter m arising from e x pre ss ion ( 2 ) vanishe s and we ,

have at the origin

2 = 0 ;

hence
2
(y x
) ( 3)
i s the appro x i mate for m at the origin of t he branch who s e tan
gent is x y . E q ua t ion ( 3) sho w s t ha t the curve lies above
the t angent in t he firs t and below i t in t he t hird q uadrant .

T he s econd appro x i ma t ion t o t he branch whose

t angen t is x y O is found b y p ut t ing y x,

in e q uation ( I ) t o be
,

”9 3 2
which s hows t hat t he c urve lies below t hi s tan °

gen t on bot h sides of t he origin H ence the comple t e form .

a t the origin is t ha t indicated in Fig 3 2 . .

§ IV] SE C ON D A P P R OXI M A TI ON S

75 . Consider
ne x t t he side D E of the pol ygon which by ,

itself gives onl y the point of the curve 1 Writing equa ,

tion ( 1 ) according to power s of y ,

x
’
( x I) I ) -
y
3 0 ( 4)

T here are no mar k e d point s on the parallel line adj acent to the
side D E of t he polygon which shows t hat x , I is t he t an

gent a s in A rt 34 Moreover the e x pre ss ion y ( x

, . . I ) corre ,
2 2
,

s p o nding t o the ne x t parallel line contain s the factor x I , ,

which vanishes a t t he point in ques t ion Hence it i s necessary .

t o incl ude the t erm represented by t he point C thus put t ing ,

x I in the coe fficient s of y an d x 1 in equation

x + i — y3 = o .

In t his equa t ion x I bear s a fini t e ratio to y

,
at 3
the point
for y ( x I ) bear s a vanishing ratio to
2

1 Y
1 H ence the appro x i mate form at th i s p omt
.

fi = x + I ;

and, ince y an d x
S 1 have the s ame S ign , the Fig 33 ,

form of the branch i s that indicated in Fig 33 . .

76 To complet e the con s truction of the curv e we have

.
, t he
s ide FG giving ,

x —y c

which indica t e s para b olic branches in the fir s t an d s econd

qua d rants in the direction of t he ax is of y The s i d e E F give s .

:
y x,
"

hence the curve ha s parab olic branches in the d irection of the

ax i s of x in t he s econd an d third q uadrant s .
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 76

The s ide C C give s t he intersection (O , I ) . Proceeding

a s in A rt 75 the tangent at thi s point i s
.
,

an d the second appro x imation i s

y + 1

which S hows t ha t t he c urve lies above t he tangent and t hat ,

the radi us of curva t ure at thi s point is 3 See A rt 4 6. . .

77 .T he infl ex io nal t a ngen t y z x in Fig 3 2 meets t he .

bra nch t o which i t is t angen t in t hree coincident poin t s and ,

crosses t he o t her branch at t he node : it t herefore mee t s the

c urve i nfo ur coinciden t poin t s at t he origin ; and since t he c urve,

is a q uartic it ca nno t mee t t he c urve again

,
T he infl
. e x ional

tangent x 1 ( Fig 3 3).m eets the c urve in t hree coin

e ident points a t t he point of
con t ac t and mee t s it al so at the
,

f unda men t al poin t B ; hence the

c urve canno t again cross t hi s
tangen t I t is t herefore ne c e s
.

sary to j oin the branches deter

mi ned as indica t e d in Fig 34 . .

T he t angent y z x mee t s

the c urve in t hree coincident

poin t s at t he origin ; and p utting ,

y z x in t he eq u a t ion of the
Fig 3 4 .

curve t he fo ur t h point of inter

,

s ection is found to be 2 thu s deter mini ng a poin t on the

,

infinite branch in t he second quadrant T he line x . 2

will be found to t ouch the curve at thi s point and to meet i t ,

again at 2 I,) .
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 78

may have a fi ni t e value at the point ( I , To a s certain this

value divide equation ( 2 ) by y thu s
, ,

2x x I
2

2
x J ’ 0 °

B efore putting y 0 in thi s equation we mus t s ub s ti t ute

z :
,

for x i t s appro x i mate val ue I y derived from t he fir s t appro x ,

ima t ion in t he nu mera t ors of t he frac t ions and retain all the
, ,

ter ms which have a fi nite value when y z 0 Th us we have .

I
)

2 ( x -
I ) — 2y 2 ( x
+
y r

x ..

an d s ince
,
1 at the point ( I , thi s b ecome s

H ence we infer t hat x 1 y is po s itive in the neigh b orhood

of t he poin t ( I O) and the form of t he curve is
, ,

therefore t hat represented in Fig 36 . .

x E qua t ion (4 ) m a
y be u sed to de t ermine the
radiu s of curvat ure a s in A rt 6 6 , . .

Fig 3 6
We may in a similar manner de termine a
'

79 .
, ,

second appro x i mation wh en t he side of t h e pol ygon give s only

an in t ersec t ion wi t h t he line a t infini t y and the fir s t ap p roxi
ma t ion gives t he a s y mptote For e x ample t he s ide E F in Fig
.
, .

35 gives
 S UCCE S S I VE A P P R OXI M A TI ONS

de t er mining a point a t infinit y . T he equation of the curve is

x s x
) (I 3
+ yx
2
) W 2x
( 5)
and the a sy mpto t e i s found by dividing by x an d t hen making 3

y x 00 w h ile
z :
y x i s as s,u med to have a fi nite value .

T he result is
y x 2 0 , ( )
6

the equat ion of the a s ymptote Now since equation (6 ) shows .

,

that the quantity y x 2 vani s he s when x i s infinite the ,

quanti t y
—
My x

may have a finite value when t he point (x y ) recedes ind e fi ,

pon t he branch to which eq ua t ion (6) represents the

nit el y u
as ympto t e T o a s cer t ain this val ue divi d e equa t ion ( 5) by x
.
,
2
,

and pu t y x 2 a s given by the first appro x imation before

z
, ,

putting x infini t e Thu s we have .

+ 6x +
2
x3 3
2

— x )

and rej ecting terms which vanish when

,
x i s in fi nite thi s
,

becomes
x
(y — x — x
)
or s ince y
,
x 2 when x is infi ni t e ,

x (y x 2
) ( 7)
H ence we infer that y x 2 is po s itive when x is po s itive .

an d grea t and negative when x is negative and grea t ; t he

,

curve is t herefore above the as y mp t o t e for distan t poin t s in

the fir s t quadrant and below i t for distant point s in t he t hird
,

quadrant See Fig 37 page 6 4 in which t he curve is t raced

. .
, , .

80 It should b e noticed t hat in t he processes ill u s t ra t ed in

.
,

A rt s 78 and 79 while the terms employed in the firs t appro x

.
,
 C UR VE TRA CI NG

i mat ion are tho s e repre s en t ed by point s on the side of t he

polygon and on t he adj acent parallel line the additional ter ms ,

introduced in the s ucceeding appro x imation are represented by

points on the ne x t parallel line .

Asy mp totic P a r a bola s

81 . proce ss of s uccessive appro x i mation similar to t hat

A ,

e mplo yed in the preceding ar t icles enables u s to de t ermine ,

more acc urately the po s i t ion of a parabolic branch at one of

t he funda mental points A or B S uch a branch i s indicat ed by
.

the side P G of t he analyt ical poly gon in Fig 3 5 Le t the . .

equation of the curve be written in t he form

’
y
_ ( x
2 — y ) — x 3y — x y 2
2x
2
2x

the term s inclu d e d in the firs t e x pre s sion being t hose cor
re s ponding to the s ide of the poly gon These terms alone .

prod uce term s with finite values w hen the equation i s di vided
b y y the re s ult b eing
3

2
x
= I
y co

from which we infer that t he parabola

( )
2
x y 10

i s an appro x imate form at t he fun d amental point B . Now ,

s i nce it follow s from equat ion (9) that 00 , the product

may have a finite value at B T his will .

, in fact b e found to be
,

the case when the equa t ion con t ain s term s represe nt ed by
poin t s of t he analy t ical triangle si t uated upon the parallel line
a dj acent t o the S ide of the po lygon in que s tion I n Fig 3 5
. .
 I V] AS YMP T O T1 C P A R A B OL A S ’

there is one marked poin t so si t uated na mely t he point , E ;

accordingly dividing equa t ion ( 8) by y x we have
,
z
,

x y x x
f
2
2
x J ’
J ’

in which t he only additional term that does not vani s h at t he

f unda men t al poin t B is t ha t represented by t he point E . The
result is that at B
2
x
I O ;

hence we infer t hat the parabola

( )
2
x y x o 12

is a closer appro x i ma t ion t o t he curve than that repre s ented

by eq ua t ion

x
z —y — x
82 . E q ua t ion ( 1 1 ) shows that 0 a t t he fun
x

dame nt al poin t B ; hence t he produc t of t his q uan t i t y by x,

namel y
x
2 _
y
—x ,

may have a fi ni t e value at B . T o find thi s value divide equa ,

tion ( 8) by y , t hus
2 —
x y

I n order t o re t ain all t he t er ms of this equation which have

3
fi ni t e values at B, i t is necessary in t he infini t e term to sub
J ’

for x i t s val ue y
s t i t ut e
2
x as given b
y t he secon d ap p r ox i

ma t ion eq ua t ion
, T he r e s ul t is t ha t a t B
x (x x )
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A rt 8 2

x
z —y — x 1 =
z o ;

hence the para b ola

-

x
2 —-y
a -
x —2 = o
( 14
)
i s a s till clo s er appro x imation than that repre s ente d b y equa
tion T hi s curve i s called the asy mp totic p a ra bola .

83 . Putting the equation of thi s parab ola in the form

( x Z
E ,

we s ee that it s verte x i s at 2
3) an d it s parameter i s unit y .

i
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
I
l
l
l
l
l
l

T he parabola i s constr uc t ed in Fig 37 together with the .

,

b ranches d e t er mined in A r t s 78 an d 79 an d tho s e corre s pond

.
,
 A S YMP TO TI C PARA B OL A S

ing t o the remaining S ides of the analytical polygon in Fig 35 . .

I n j oi ning t he branches it i s obviou s that the oblique asymp ,

tote mu s t be crosse d in the fourth quadrant and al s o in t he ,

s econd quadrant ; an d s ince thi s a s y mptote cannot be cro s se d

,

again the remaining branche s mu s t be j oined a s in the fi gure

, .

84 The proces s given in A rt s 8 1 and 8 2 may b e continue d

. .

in or d er to determine the value of the quantity

x ( x
z —y — x

which may be fi nite at the fun d am ental point B S ince b y equa ,

tion ( 1 4) the quan t i t y in the paren t he s i s vani s he s at B Multi .

pl ying equa t ion ( 1 3) by x we have the equation of the curve in ,

the form

( y)
2
x x o .

The la s t two term s vanish a t B ; and employing the val ue ofx

2
,

given by equation we h ave at B

)( )
2
x 2 x x
y)
2
x x
y

( my )
;
x ” C 2
( y) ( )
’ - 2
x x x x

(
2
2 x 3 x

and, rej ecting vani s hing term s ,

—y —x — = 4
( ) ( S)
z
x x Z » I

By equation the quan t ity y 2 i s the di ffer 2

x x

e nce b etween the ordina t e of the curve and the corre s pon d in g
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A rt 84

ord inat e of t he asy mptotic parabola H ence we infer from .

equation ( 1 5) t hat t he curve is below the parabola in the fi r s t

quadrant and above it in t he second quadrant a s repre s ented
, ,

in Fig 3 7 ; the di st ance mea s ure d in the direction of the ax i s

.

4
of y b eing when , x i s great a b out ,
x

E xa mp l e s IV

1 . x
2
y
3
+ xy 4 -
y
3 - x
2
+ x o
x4 4 z 2
2 .
y 2 ax 3 y a y a 4 0 .

4 3 2 2 2 2
a4
3 . x z ay
3 a y 2a x o .

3 2
4- x + x

4 3 2 2 2 2
5 . x 2 ay 2a x
3 a y 0

6 .
(T 4 a
z
)( x
’
+r )
’
4 4 4 o .

( ) (y 2x)
2
+ y
2 3
7 . x x 4 a x z ay 3 z : o.
‘

8 . xy
z
y x
2
ay
2
a x
z
o .

9 .
(y r
) (y
z
2x ) M y 1 1x ) .

10 4 z ay 3 —
1 2 ay x
z 2
xy
z 2
.
y 4a a x 0 .

( )
2 2
1 1 . x d x3 + y 3 .

x( y) ( r) 9
2
I 2 x 4 ax x 4 4 0 ~

6 4 z 2 3 4 2 5
2a x a x 3 y 0
1
3 . x x y y ,
a .

( )( )
2 2
4y
2 2
14 . x y x 2 ax I o a xy 2 0 ay 2 4a x .

1
5 y .
“ 2 axy
2
3 a
2
y
2 3
z a x o .

6 ( y)
2 2
+a
z z 3 2 2
1 . x y 2 xy 2 ax y 2 a xy x 0 .

4 3 z 2 2 3 z 2 z 2
1
7 . x x y x y 2 ax
y ay a x a
y o .

18
z 2
x3
3 z 2 z 3
. x y x y x y xy y x 0 .

I“
T hi s res u lt , as we ll as t h tf a o und in A rt 79, e uat o n . q i g i v es a g o o d a pp r ox

i m ti
a on o n ly w h e n t he v a ue l of x is c o ns id e ra l e For b . in t s ance , w h en x 5,
the ord nate i of the p ara b l o a is 1 8 , a nd t h ili n
at o f t he re ct e a r as ymp t ote is 7 ; the
l
v a ues of y fo r the c urv e are a b o ut 1
55 . a nd d i ff i ng f er ro m the f or mer by
and r es p ect v e i ly wh , e re as the d iff ere nce s g i n b yveq u ti e a ons ( 5)1 and ( 7) l
w ou d
for t hi s v a ue o f x l be 8 . and .
4 r esp e ct v e i ly .
 CUR VE TR A C/ N C [A rt 8 6

thi s line that is to say a parabolic branch It i s to be no t ice d

, , .

that in the s e ca s e s the proces s of appro x imation de t er mines at

once t he S ide of the tangent on which the curve lies and in ,

the ca s e of t he line at infinit y it determine s in which of two

oppo s ite quadrant s the parabolic b ranche s lie For e xample .
,

ta k e th e cu rve who s e equation i s

4 2 2 4 2 3
x 2x y y 2 ax y ay o,

for which Fig .

3 8 give s t he analy tical poly gon The s ide AB .

give s for the inter s ection with the line at

in fi nit y
4 4 O
x y

( + y) ( r)
2 ”
x x

Fig . 38
an equat i on hav i ng two pa i r s of equal ro ot s .

Now an infinite b ranch for which 1 mu s t lie in t he fir s t

or in the thir d qua d rant and fro m equation ( 1 ) we hav e
,

( y)
”
x

in which puttin g y
, x, we have when , x i s in fi n it e ,

( y)
z
x

The corre s pondi ng branches are parabolic b ecau s e x y i s

infinite when x i s infini t e ; and since thi s quantit y i s real only ,

when x is positive the branches are in the fi r s t qua d ran t

,
.
 V] PARA B OL I C B RA N CH E S

87
T he con s truction of t he curve is rea d il y complete d ; for
.

the S ide A D of the polygon

give s t he for m at the origin

the s ide CD give s the tangent s

-x
y ,

and the side B C gives t he point

( 0
, a ) M oreover
. the equa ,

Fig 3 9
tion con t aining powers of x wi t h .

even e x ponen t s onl y the curve is s y mmetrical to the

,

hence i t s for m i s t hat indicated in Fig 39 . .

88
S upposing a s in A rt 8 6 t ha t the equation giving the
.
, .
,

intersection with one of the fundamental line s ha s eq ual roots ,

the singular case cor re s ponding t o a node i s indica t ed by the

, ,

occ urrence of a quadratic e q ua t ion for the fi r s t appro x ima t ion ,

a s in A r t 36 t he roo t s of t his q uadratic b eing real or imagi

.
,

nary according a s the node is a cr unode or an acno d e I n the .

case of t he line at infi ni t y t he singular ca s e i s tha t of parallel

,

a s ympto t es and the s e may be real forming a crunode at infi n

ity as in A rt 2 9 or imaginary forming an acnode at in fi nity
, .
, ,

there being in the latter ca s e of cour s e no corre s pondin g

, ,

infini t e branche s .

89
Le t us now s uppo s e t ha t e q ual root s occur in the quad
.

rat ic eq uation d etermining t he firs t appro x imation or tangent s

a t a node T hi s will us ually cons t i t ute a case in which the

.

curv e is r eal for value s of x on one si de and imag inary for ,

 CUR VE TRA CI N C [A r t 89

value s of x on the other side of t he par t icular value of , x in

question For e xample let the equa t ion of the curve b e
.
,

( y) ( y) ( )
2 2 3 2 2 2 - 2
x x z a x 2 ax y a xy a x I

for which Fig .

4 0 gives the anal y tical pol y gon The s ide CD .

gives for t he tangent s at the node at the origin

, ,

the equation
( r)
”
x

Fig 40
which ha s equal root s s howing that b oth t an
.

gent s coincide with t he line

y = x .

Proceeding to t he ne x t appro x imation by dividing equation ( I ) ,

by x 3 an d making x y 0 we have at t he origin z :

,

(
’
a x
o
,

hence we infer that near t he origin t he quantit y y x i s real

when x i s po s i t ive and i maginary when x i s negative More

,
.

over in the for mer case thi s quanti t y which is the d i f

,
ference, ,

between corresponding ordinates of the curve and

the tangent ha s two val ues one positive and the
, ,

other negat ive H ence the curve lies on the right

.

of the origin and on bo t h s ide s of the t angent ,

the t wo branche s forming a cusp at t he origin a s ,

in Fig 4 1 . .

90 s ide CA of the pol ygo n in Fig

. T he .
4 0 gives for the
,

inter s ection w i t h the ax is of x t he e q uation ,

“ 2
x z ax a
which has a pair of e q ual roo ts . A rranging eq uation ( 1 )
according t o po w ers of y i t is ,

( ) ( )y ( )y
2 2 2 2 2
x x a 2 ax x a x ax a o,

and t he occ urrence of t he fac t or x a in the coe f ficient of y

renders t his a q uadra t ic e q ua t ion for t he ra t io of y t o x a at

t he poin t (a O) as in A rt 36 ; hence there i s a node a t t hi s

, , .

poin t.

Pu tt ing x a t he qua d ratic is ,

which has e q ual roo ts hence t he poin t i s a cu s p at which

t angent i s t he line
—
x a +y = a (9

91 The ta ngen t a t a c usp like a tangent at an ordinary

.
,

no de mee t s t he c urve in t hree coinciden t poin t s at the point

,

of con t ac t th u s t he c urve being a q uar t ic t he tangen t y

, x ,
z :

can mee t t he c urve in only one o t her point which i s foun d to ,

be ( 3a 3a ) and t he t angen t ( 3) passes t hrough the s ame point

, , .

T he c urve has no infi ni t e branche s ;

for t he S ide A E of t he pol ygon give s
2 2
x y 0 ,

indicat ing i maginary in t ersec t ions wi t h

t he line a t infi ni t y ; a nd t he side D E
give s for t he par allel as ymp t o t es or
,

t angen ts a t t he f unda men t al poin t B ,

2 2
x “x a
Fig 4 2 .

which ha s imaginary roots s o that B i s an acnode , .

The shape of the c u rve i s therefor e that S hown in F ig .

4 2 .
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A rt 9 2

Ta cnodes

92 .When equal root s occ ur in the e q uation d e t ermi ning

the tangents at a no d e we have s een in A rt 8 9 tha t we ordi , .

nar ily have a cusp ; b ut here also a sing ular case analogou s to ,

t ha t e x plained in A rt 8 5 may arise that is to s ay t he q uan t i t y

.
, ,

which measures the dis t ance of t he c urve fro m t he t angen t

may be real on bo t h sides of t he node or i maginary on bo t h ,

S ide s of the node For e x a mple le t t he equation of t he c urve

.
,

be
wy ( T) ( y) ( )
z ’ 2
x y x -
x x - ’
I

for w hich Fig 4 3

. give s the anal yt ical pol ygon The side CD .
,

indicating a node a t t he origin give s an equation ,

with equal root s and t he line ,

x
( ) 2

the onl y tangen t at the origin a s in A rt 8 9

is , . .

B ut s ince in this case x

, y occ u rs as a fac t or in
the term s of the t hird degree also we no longer ob t ain a fini t e ,

ra t io between (x y) and x 3
in fac t p u t ting2
in equation ( )
1 ,

x a s d etermined b the fi r st appro x i ma t ion we have

y , y ,

—y) 0 y)
0
“ 2 2 ’
x 4 0 90 0 4 0

a quadrat ic equation for the rat io of x y to x

"
. Solving we ,

obtain real roo t s namel y ,

— ( 3)
V3 )
"
“
( x y) 2 It x ;

hence the quant ity x y is real on bo t h side s of c

th e origin having t wo val ues bo t h of which are

, ,

Fig 4 4
nega t i v e T hus t he for m of t he curve a t the
.
.

or i g i n i s t ha t represen t ed in Fig 44 T he two bra nche s having . .

a co mmon t angent b ut differe nt c urv ature s are s aid to form a

 TA CN OD E S

tac nod eW e have alread y had in A rt 6 0 an e xa mple of a tac

. .
~

node in which the common tangent is one of th e coordina t e

ax e s
.

Cusps at I nfi nity

93 The line D E in Fig 4 3 corre s pon ds to a no d e at the

. .

funda men t al point A t he equation i s

y
2
my a
2

which has eq ual roo t s hence the curve ha s two tangent s at A,

or as ymptotes coin cident with t he line
,

y + a = o .

A rra ngingt he term s according t o power s of cc, the equation of

the curve is
(y )
2 2 2 3 z 2
x a 2 a xy 2 ay a y 0 .

The ne xt appro x imation i s foun d a s in A rt , . 6 7, by divi d ing b y

x and then making x 00

and y a a s de t erm ine d

b y the firs t appro x i ma tion .

T he result is
(y ) 24 3
2
x a 0 ;

whence we infer that for the

infini t e branche s x must b e
nega t ive and t hat y
, a w ill

have t wo val ue s one p ositive ,

and the o t her negative Fig 45

.
.

H ence t he c urve has two infini t e branches approaching the

left end of t he as y mp t o t e one on each side of it as in Fig 4 5
, ,
.
,

forming a c usp at t he f un damen t al poi nt A ,

 CUR VE TRA C/ N C [A r t 94

94 T o co mple t e t he cons t r uc t ion of t he c urve we have the

.
,

s ide E P
. gi ving parabolic branche s in the first and s econd
q uadran t s and t he ,
side FC giving t he poin t ( 3)
0 a T he tan , .

gent y x mee t s t he c urve in four coinciden t points at the

origin and t herefore cannot meet it again T he as y mp t o t e

, .
,

being a tangen t a t a c usp mee t s t he curve in t hree coincident

,

poin ts at infi nit y and the four t h poin t of inter s ection is fo und
,

to be at 3a a) , .

R a mp hoid Cusp s

95 .When a q uadra t ic eq ua t ion presents i t self for t he sec

ond appro x i ma t ion a t a node where the t angen t s are coin
e iden t if t h e roo t s are real and dis t inct as in A r t 9 2 t he t w o
, , .
,

branches having t he co mmon tangent have di fferen t c urv a

t ures and t hese branches are real upon bo t h sides of t he node
forming a t acnode If t he roo t s were imaginary t here wo ul d
.
, ,

of co urse be no branche s and t he node wo uld be an isola t ed

, ,

point of t he c urve .

96 S uppose now t hat this equation ha s eq ual roo t s ; t he

.
, ,

two appro x i mat e forms de t er mining t he c urvat ure come in t o

coincidenc e and i t will usu all y be fo und t ha t t he c urve is real
,

on one side and i maginary on t he o t her side of t he node as in ,

t he case of t he ordin ary c usp For e x a mple let the e q ua t ion .

,

of t he c urve be
x4 2x
2
y 2 xy
2
y
2
( ) 1

which pon the anal yt ical tria ngle in Fig 4 6 T he

'

u . .

s ide A C which r e pre s en ts a second ap p rox i

,

ma t ion at t he ori g in the ax i s of x being t he ,

t a ngen t gives the quadratic

,

Fig . 46
x 4 2
n 0 ,

which ha s e q ual root s and ,

2
x y 0
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 9 8

end A branch of t he lat t er character may be regarded a s an

.

arc of t he c urve terminated in each direc t ion by One of the

points in which t he c urve mee t s the line a t infinit y B ut we .

may regard t he infini t e branch as contin uo us at one of the s e

poin ts wi t h t he other infinite branch which ter minates at that
point thus making t he curve to con s ist en t irel y of reentrant
,

branche s or c i rcui ts which may or may no t be cu t by t he line

,

a t infinit y For e x a mple the conic c on s i st s alway s of a s ingle

.
,

circuit which in t he case of t he h yperbola i s cut into t wo arc s

,

by the line a t infinit y .

99 A
circui t is odd or even accor d ing a s i t i s cu t in an odd
.

or an even n umber of poi nt s by a s t raigh t line Obvio usl y an .

odd circui t mu s t cu t every s t raight line in a t leas t one poin t ,

and in par t ic ular i t mus t cu t the line at infini t y in at lea s t one

point A c urve of odd degree must con t ain at least one odd
.
i

circuit T h u s a cubi c contains alway s an odd circ uit which

.

cut s the line at infi ni t y at least on ce and it may in addition ,

contain an even circ ui t which las t may b e a clo s ed curve or

,

oval no t cu tt ing the line at infinit y .

10 0 A circuit con t aining a cr uno d e con s i s t s of two part s

.

or loop s the two e x tremi t ies of a loop being a t a com mon point
,

but not having a co mmon tangen t For e x ample in Fig 4 8 .

,
.

both e x t re mi t ies of the infi nite bra nch in the first quadran t are
a t t he funda men t al poin t B but i t does no t form a co mplete cir
c ui t because t he t angen t s at the e x t re mi t ies are the as y mpto t e
,

and t he line a t infinit y respec t ivel y T he branch in t he fourt h

.

q u adran t is t he o t her loop co mple t ing t he circ uit A n acnode .

is a poin t a t w hich a n oval vanishes T h us t he nodal varie t y

.

of a c urve is in t er media t e be t ween varie t ies w hich differ in the

n umber of circui t s A s an ill us t ra t io n t ake t he c urve whose
.
,

equ at ion is
(
2 2 2 ’
x I 4 4 2
 V] CI RCUI TS

T he c urve has no infini t e branches and is s ymme t rical t o bo t h ,

ax e s For i ts inter s ec t ion s wi t h the ax is of x we have

. ,

2
x

x = i c
z
) ;

a nd for i t s inter s ec t ion s with the ax is of y,

(y )
’ z z
a

y rt ( M
It 6
2

T he c urve alway s cu t s the a x is of x a t t he dis t a nce s c )

2

fro m the origin ; and if c a i t cu t s t hi s a x i s al s o at the,

dis t ances c ) and does no t c ut th e ax is of y In

z
,
.

t his case the curve consis t s of two oval s If c a the curve .

,

c ut s the a xis of x onl y a t the

dis t ances c ) and i t cut s
2

t he a x is of y at t he dis t ance s
a ) fro m t he origin In
t
.

t his case i t consis t s of a single

oval In the in t er media t e case
.
,

when c a t here is a cr unode at

,

t he origin The three varie t ies

.

of t he c urve which is known as , Fig 4 9 .

t he Cassinian are drawn in Fig 4 9 The nodal ca s e i s the

, . .

le mniscat a .

10 1 I t is eviden t t h at a circ ui t which does no t c ut ei t her

.

of t he funda men t al lines n amely t he coord i na t e a x es and t he

,

line a t infini t y w ill no t be de t ec t ed if w e e mplo y onl y the

,

me t hod of t he an a l yt ical pol y gon T he por t io n of t he pl a ne in .

which s uch a circ ui t may possib ly lie may g e n e r all y be greatl y

li mi t ed by the considera t ion of t he in t ersec t ions of the c urve
wi t h a s t rai g ht lin e m ov in g in s uch a ma n ner as t o s weep over
 C UR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 10 1

the en t ire plane For e x ample in Fig 4 8 t he c urve is a q uar

.
, .

tic and t he origin is a node ; hence a line passing t hro ugh t he

origin mee t s t he c urve t w ice at t he origin and in t wo o t her
poin t s If t he line revolves in t he positive direction from
.

coincidence wi t h t he ax is of x t hro ugh it sweeps over t he

en t ire plane and we no t ice t ha t t he t wo point s are real un t il
,

t he line arr i ves a t a po si t ion in w hich i t is t angen t t o t he

bra nch in t he fo urt h q ua dran t H ence al t ho ugh t here can .
,

obvio usly be no branch in t he fo urt h q uadran t o t her t han th at

drawn we mi g h t s t ill s uspec t t he e x iste nce of an oval in the
,

second q uadran t .

B ut if we put y
, mx in t he eq ua t ion of the curve an d s olve
2
,

for x as in A rt 1 3 we fi nd
, .
,

x m( i m) : l: mi O n

whence we see t ha t t he t wo val ues of x are real until m

and i maginary for all v al ues of m be t ween 2 and 0

there is no o t her circ ui t T he li mi t ing val ue m

.
,

x z 2 ; t herefore 4) is t he poin t of contact of a

( 2 ,

pas s ing through the origin .

Aux il ia ry L oci

10 2 When the e q ua t ion of a c urve is in such a form that

.

e ach of i ts me mbers is readil y resolved in t o si mple fac t or s the ,

l oci of the res ul t s of eq uat ing t hese fac t ors separa t ely to z ero
can freq uen t l y be used in cons t r uc t ing t he c urve in the manner
illus t rated below .

For e x ample le t t he eq uation of t he c urve be

,

x( y ) (r ( ) ( )
z 2
dx x a I

T he locus of y O is the a x is of x and t hat of y

r: acc O is ,
2

the parabola cons t r uc t ed in Fig 50 I t is t o be noticed tha t . .

t he val ue of the e x pres s ion in t he first me mber for t he point

 A UXI L I AR Y L O CI

( y)
x, v a nishes and ch a nges S ign whenever t he poin t crosses
ei t her of t hese lines being posi t ive in ,

t wo of t he fo ur regions in t o which t he
l ines divide t he plane and nega t iv e in t he
,

o t her t wo .

T he locus of x a 0 corresponding ,

t o a fac t or in t he second me mber is for ,

dis t inc t ion cons t ructed by a do tt ed line in

t he figure T he fac t or y . a is alway s 2 2

posi t ive and t here is no corresponding

,

loc us ; t h us t he e x pression in t he second Fig 50 .

number is posi t ive for all poin t s on t he right of the d otted

line and negative for all poin t s on it s left

, .

10 3 . Since each me mber of equa t ion ( 1 ) reduce s to z ero at a

poin t w here t he do tt ed line in t ersec ts a full line i t is evident ,

t ha t t he c urve p asses t hro ugh every s uch poin t ; i t is also

e v i d en t t hat t h e c urve canno t mee t either of t he line s a t any
o t he r poin t M oreover if we mark each of t he eigh t regions
.
,

in t o w hic h t he lines divide t he plane by t he S ign or

a ccor d i n g a s t he e x pressions in t he firs t and second me mber s

of t he e q uat ion have like or un l ike signs in tha t region it i s ,

e v id e n t t h at no p ar t of the c urve can lie in a region marked

T hus a t e a ch of t he poin t s of i n t ersection a branch of t he curve

passes f ro m one of t he verticall y Opposi t e regions marked to
t he o t her .

10 4 T he poin t s of in t ersec t ion are (a O) (a a ) and (a

. a) , , , , .

T he inclin at ion of t he c urve a t ei t her of t hese poin t s is readil y

de t er mined in a manner e q ui v alen t t o t ha t which we e mplo y
w hen a c u rve p a sses t hro u g h t h e origin T h us for t he poin t .
,

( a
,
m a king x a and y z : O in t he coe ffici e n t s
r:of t h e fac
t ors which vanish at t his poin t in e q ua t ion we have
(
z 2
a y a x
 CUR VE TRA CI N G [A r t 10 4

hence
—
y z a x

i s the equation of t he fir s t appro x imation or tangent a t thi s

poin t
.

10 5 . A gai n, at the point (a , a ) we have in li k e manner , ,

z a ( x a
) ,

which the eq uation of a parabola appro x imat ing to

the given curve If we de s ire onl y to
.

determine the i nclina t ion at (a a) we , ,

wri t e equation ( 3) in such a form that

y a or x a is a factor of each term ,

thu s
— a) i

and, again put t ing x a and y a, we

have
Z U a
) 30 6
Fig 51
.

for the eq ua t ion of the ta ng e nt The process i s equivalent to

.

transferring the origin t o t he p oint (a a) and retaining in t he ,

re s ult only t he t erms of t he fi r s t degree .

In like manner we find t he t angen t at (a a ) to be ,

10 6 .When as in the present ca s e onl y two branche s enter

, ,

a region i t is evident tha t these b ranches m us t be con t inuou s

, ,

a s represen t ed in Fig The cons t ruction of t his branch

5 1 . . ,

which for ms a co mplete circuit is readily co mple t ed after deter

,

m i n i ng the as ymp t o t e which is fo und t o be t h e line x y

,
: .

The fundamental poin t A i s an acnode ; and con s idering s traigh t , ,

 A UXI L I A R Y L O I C

lines pa ss ing t hrough t hi s point that i s to say lines parallel , ,

t o t he a xi s of x it i s evi d ent that the curve contain s no othe r

,

circuit.

L oci r e r esenti ng
p Squa r ed Fa ctor s
10 7 .In t he preceding e x ample each of the au x iliary loci
repre s ent s a single factor and s epara t es region s oppo s itely ,

marked If now one of th e loci repre s en t s a s quared factor

.
, , ,

t h e e x pression containing thi s fac t or vanishe s but doe s not

change S ign when the point (x y ) cro ss es thi s loc us ; hence
, ,

t he adj acen t region s separated by it will be s imilarly marked .

Such a loc us may be regarded as for med by two au xiliary loci of

t he s ame s y s t em co ming into coincidence H ence at the point .
,

where i t cros s e s a s ingle locu s of the o t her sy s tem the curve

mee t s the single loc us in two poin ts which have co me into c o
incidence t hat i s i t t o uches t he S ingle locus in fact i t lie s on
, ,

bo t h S ides of the do uble locus and on that side of the s ingle ,

loc us where t he a d j acent regions are mar k ed

10 8 . To illu s trate le t u s tak e the curve who s e equation i s

,

( ) ( w ) ( 9 ( )
’ ’ i 2
4y x d x x x 4 d x
54 . I

The aux iliary loci for the fi r s t member are the axi s of x the ,

line x a and the line x 2 a which are drawn a s f ull line s ,

in Fig 52 The loci for the s econd mem b er are the ax i s ofy
. .

an d the rectangular h yperbola

2 —y 2 z
x d
4 x sa

my r a
.
( )
2

which are drawn a s dot t ed lines The origin is a poin t at which .

a sin g le factor m eet s a d oub l e fact or and accor d in g ly t he c urve ,

 C UR VE T R A C/ N C [A r t 10 8

touches t he a xi s of y ly ing on its right s ide where t he region s

,

are marked I n fact if we put x O and y o in the c o

,

e ffi cient s of y and x in equation

2
we have

8 a3 y
z
z 5
4
a x ,

t he process bei ng equivalent to that of fi n d ing the appro x i mate

for m a t t he origin .

A gain t he s ingle locus x

,
2 a cut s the h perbola which i s
y ,

a do uble loc u s in t he point s ( 2 a 1: a ) hence t he curve t o uc hes

, , 1

the line x 2 a at the s e point s .

10 9 At
a point where two double
.

loci one belonging to each s y ste m

, ,

meet t he four region s are all si mi

,

l ar ly marked ; and s upposing t he m ,

marked we have two branche s

crossing each of the loci and for ming
a cr unode Thu s in the present e x .
,

a mple t he double locus x

, a cut s

the hyperbola equation in the ,

poin t s (a j : a \/2 ) hence the s e point s

,

are nodes To find the tangen ts at .

t he upper node we put x z a and ,

y a \/2 in the coe fi

f cien t s of the
fac t ors which vani s h at this point in
q
e ua tion ( 1 ) t he re s ult i s
8a 2
( x a )
’
( x
2 —y 2
4 a x 5a
2
)
2
,

— a) :1
: ( x
2 -
y
2 — 4 ax

Procee d ing a s in A rt . 10 5 , we hav e

( ) ( ) ( ) (J
2 z
1: . d x a x a! z a x a ’