WAYS OF DERTERMINING CONIC SECTIONS

1. By Cutting a Plane

Circle – cutting a plane parallel to the base of the cone.

Parabola – cutting a plane parallel to the slant height of the cone.
Ellipse – cutting a plane not parallel to any element of the cone.
Hyperbola – cutting a plane parallel to the altitude of the cone.

2. By Eccentricity

Circle – e -> 0
Parabola – e = 1
Ellipse – e < 1
Hyperbola – e >1

Note: Eccentricity shows you how "un-circular" the curve is. Bigger eccentricities are less curved.

3. By Conic General Equations

Ax2 + Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0

Circle – A = C
Parabola – Either A or C is zero
Ellipse – A ≠ C, but same signs
Hyperbola – A ≠ C, but opposite signs
 CIRCLE

A circle is a set of all points in a plane that are equidistant from a fixed point. The fixed point is called the
center of the circle denoted by C. The distance from the center to any point P on the circle is the radius
denoted by r.

Center-Radius Form (CRF)

Center at the Origin

x2 + y2 = r2

Center at h,k

(x-h)2 + (y-k)2 = r2

General Equation

Ax2 + Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0 , note that A=C, so the GE for circle is Ax2 + Ay2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0

D = -2h, E = -2k, F = h2 + k2 – r2

Center (h,k) if GE of circle is given

−𝑫 −𝑬
𝒉 = ;𝒌 =
𝟐𝑨 𝟐𝑨
Tangent Line Formulae

Center at (h,k) tangent to a line

𝑨𝒙𝟏 +𝑩𝒚𝟏 +𝑪
Radius = | |
±√𝑨𝟐 +𝑩𝟐

Center at the origin tangent to a line

𝑪
Radius = | |
±√𝑨𝟐 +𝑩𝟐

Distance Formula

d = |√(𝑥2 − 𝑥1 )2 + (𝑦2 − 𝑦1 )2 |
PARABOLA
PARABOLA VERTEX AT THE ORIGIN
ELLIPSE