Arcs in Animation

In Computer Animation, motion is usually represented in a timeline view using splines(arcs). The arcs represent the values of an objects parameters at a specific moment in time. The method used for calculating interpolated keyframe values determines the characteristic of the arc(motion).  Arcs can also be seen when a ball is bouncing along a surface, as it creates curves in the air - arcs.  Although sometimes it may be slightly exaggerated.