Is there an easier way to solve a "Find the locus" problem?
Note: I am not concerned with the accuracy of my solution so you don't need to redo any of my calculations.
Original question: Suppose ABC is an equilateral triangular lamina of side length unity, resting in two-dimensions. If A and B were constrained to move on the x- and y-axis respectively, then what is the locus of the centre of the triangle?
My solution: Let the vertices of be , and . Let the centre of the triangle be . We wish to find the locus of D under the constraints:
Since D is the centre of the triangle, we know
Parametrizing: Let be the angle that the edge AB makes with the x-axis. We use (theta) as our parameter of choice to write,
for
This implies,
We can parametrize this with another parameter as
Plugging these back into third equation gives
After lots of algebraic manipulations...