The document discusses parametric coordinates and compares them to Cartesian coordinates. It states that parametric coordinates describe a curve using two equations where points are defined by a single parameter, while Cartesian coordinates use a single equation where points are defined by two numbers. The document then provides an example of a parabola with the parametric coordinates x=2at, y=at^2 and discusses how to derive the Cartesian equation from the parametric form. It also gives the focus of the parabola as (1/4,0) and calculates the parametric coordinates of the curve y=8x^2 as (t/16, t^2/32).