For the practical use of Calculus

How do you figure out the function of a particular curve of a real-life object that isn't a circle or something simple like that?

What if I had an elliptical-shaped wing that isn't a perfect ellipse? How do I find the wing area of that object? I know I can "cheat" and just break up the wing into smaller trapezoids, but that's not what I'm here for.

I've always wondered about how people figure out the function of the curve of some real-life object.

>>3
Well yeah, if you break it into parts you can approximate it as close as you like by a piecewise linear function.  There's not a general way to find a function that parametrizes an arbitrary curvy line; there are infinitely many curved shapes and only so many elementary functions.