How to graph a two-variable function as a surface
Description
Assume we have a mathematical formula in the variables $x$ and $y$ and we would like to plot a graph of it using a 3D coordinate system.
Related tasks:
Using SymPy, in Python
This answer assumes you have imported SymPy as follows.
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from sympy import * # load all math functions
init_printing( use_latex='mathjax' ) # use pretty math output
First, we need a two-variable function that we wish to plot.
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var( 'x y' )
formula = sin( x**2 + y**2 )
formula
$\displaystyle \sin{\left(x^{2} + y^{2} \right)}$
You can use plot3d, but you have to import it specifically,
because it is not imported by default with the rest of SymPy.
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from sympy.plotting.plot import plot3d
plot3d( formula )
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<sympy.plotting.plot.Plot at 0x7f085354fa60>
Specify the minimum and maximum values for both $x$ and $y$ as follows. In this example, I keep $-\pi\leq x\leq\pi$ and $-\frac\pi2\leq y\leq\frac\pi2$.
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plot3d( formula, (x,-pi,pi), (y,-pi/2,pi/2) )
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<sympy.plotting.plot.Plot at 0x7f07e5878a60>
Content last modified on 24 July 2023.
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