∫Calc Practice

Eliminating the parameter

Problem 8.233 · medium

Eliminate the parameter from \( \displaystyle x = 3 \sec{\left(t \right)},\ y = \tan{\left(t \right)} \), and say what kind of curve it is.
  1. sec²t − tan²t = 1.
  2. \[ \left. \frac{x^{2}}{9} - y^{2} - 1 \right|_{\substack{ x=3 \sec{\left(t \right)}\\ y=\tan{\left(t \right)} }} = 0 \]
    The parametric point satisfies the equation for every t.✓ Proved
Answer \( \frac{x^{2}}{9} - y^{2} = 1\ (\text{hyperbola}) \)

Lines: 1 proved, 1 not checked. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt. How we verify

The full receipt
LineStatusChecked byDetail
1Not checked—a sentence; read, not computed
2✓ Provedsympy 1.14.0simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0
answer, a second way✓ Checked independentlysympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0points on the parametric curve at four values of t satisfy the equation

Reviewers

  • gpt-oss:20b: pass
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (misleading) — The solution fails to identify the curve as a hyperbola, which is required by the problem statement. It only verifies that the parametric equations satisfy the algebraic relation, but does not conclude the geometric classification.
Every verdict on record (6)
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (misleading) 2026-10-17 — The solution fails to identify the curve as a hyperbola, which is required by the problem statement. It only verifies that the parametric equations satisfy the algebraic relation, but does not conclude the geometric classification.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-17
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (misleading) 2026-10-15 — The solution fails to identify the curve as a hyperbola, which is required by the problem statement. It only verifies that the parametric equations satisfy the Cartesian equation, but does not state the geometric classification.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-15
  • qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (style) 2026-10-14 — [domain objection, downgraded to style] The solution fails to identify the domain restrictions implied by the parameter t. Since x = 3 sec(t), x cannot be in (-3, 3), meaning the curve is only the two branches of the hyperbola, not the entire hyperbola defined by x^2/9 - y^2 = 1.
  • gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-14

Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence, not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by generator:structured/parametric_eliminate, checked 2026-10-17 with SymPy 1.14.0.