LESSON 1: CONIC SECTIONS

CONIC SECTION

 a curve obtained when a double right circular cone is cut by a plane at various angles
CIRCLE
when the plane is horizontal

ELLIPSE
when the tilted plane intersects only one cone to form
a bounded curve

PARABOLA
when the plane intersects only one cone to form an
unbounded curve

HYPERBOLA
when the plane (not necessarily vertical) intersects
both cones to form two unbounded curves (each
called a branch of the hyperbola)
 Degenerate cases

Conic sections

Degenerate cases

Conic sections

FOCUS AND DIRECTRIX

Every conic section has certain features, including at least one focus and directrix.

 focus – a point about which the conic section is constructed

 directrix – a line used to construct and define a conic section

Parabolas have one focus and directrix, while ellipses and hyperbolas have two of each.
ECCENTRICITY

Circle Parabola Ellipse Hyperbola

Eccentricity – a measure of how much a conic
section deviate from being a circle

e=0 e=1 0<e<1 e>1

https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/eccentricity.html#:~:text=Eccentricity%3A%20how%20much%2
0a%20conic,Bigger%20eccentricities%20are%20less%20curved.

IDENTIFYING CONIC SECTIONS

Circle Parabola Ellipse Hyperbola

General Equation

Discriminant
A=C =0 <0 >0
B=0
Regular Conic Sections

A=C A = 0 or A and C A and C have

C=0 have the opposite
if B = 0 same signs
(each axis of the conic is horizontal or vertical) sign but
are not
equal
Examples:

Regular conic sections Rotated conic sections

B=0 B≠0

EXAMPLES: Identify the type of conic section.

Example 1:

It is a regular conic section (B = 0).

A=4

C=1

The conic section is an ellipse.

Example 2:

It is a regular conic section (B = 0).

A = 16

C = -9

The conic section is a hyperbola.

Example 3:

It is a regular conic section (B = 0).

A=1

C=1

The conic section is a circle.

Example 4:

It is not a regular conic section ( ).

A=2

B=4

C=4

Use the discriminant:

( )( )

-16 < 0

Therefore, the conic section is an ellipse.

Example 5:

It is a regular conic section (B = 0).

A=1

C=0

The conic section is a parabola.

Prepared by:
Mr. Jojo A. Ocampo
Pre-Calculus Teacher