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.
- sec²t − tan²t = 1.
- \[ \left. \frac{x^{2}}{9} - y^{2} - 1 \right|_{\substack{ x=3 \sec{\left(t \right)}\\ y=\tan{\left(t \right)} }} = 0 \]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
| Line | Status | Checked by | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not checked | — | a sentence; read, not computed |
| 2 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| answer, a second way | ✓ Checked independently | sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0 | points on the parametric curve at four values of t satisfy the equation |
Reviewers
gpt-oss:20b: passqwen3.6:27b-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 2026-10-17qwen3.6:27b-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 2026-10-15qwen3.6:27b-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.