Question

I ask because a lot of game programming and graphic design seems to use the z-axis a lot. I didn’t know what kind of math uses it so I could understand it and its relation to programming graphics applications. I don’t remember seeing it – all the way up to calc 2.

Answer 1

The z-axis typically refers to the third coordinate axis in what is known as xyz-space or better known as three-dimensional space. If you think of xy-space as a sheet of paper infinite in every direction, xyz-space is a block infinite in every direction. One way to get xyz-space is to add a vertical coordinate to xy-space telling you how far above or below you are from the infinite sheet of paper from xy-space.

If you take Calculus 3 you will definitely study it there as in most universities that is multi-dimensional calculus.

As for which branches of math use the z-axis, here’s some of the major branches that do:

• Linear algebra: abstract study of vectors (when restricted to matrix theory in three-dimensions it is very important to computer graphics)
• Knot theory: study of knots (yes, this is a serious and deep branch of mathematics)
• Applied mathematics, especially relating to physical and engineering problems
• Topology: the abstract study of continuous deformations of objects; until recently the Poincaré conjecture was one of the most famous unsolved problems in all of mathematics