How can I mathematically model a pringle as a function?

Question

I need to translate the dimensions of a pringle chip into a mathematical function to calculate the surface area of hyperbolic paraboloids. How can I do this?

Answer 1

Try playing with $$z=\frac{x^2}{a^2}-\frac{y^2}{b^2}$$ for various positive values of $a,b$ in the disk given by $$x^2+y^2< 1 $$and zoom in near the origin as needed. It will look like this:

To find it's surface area, use the procedure given here with $f=1$ and maybe parametrize the region above (disk) using polar coordinates. The explanation in the link is pretty detailed.