OBJECTIVES:

At the end of the lesson the students should be able to:

a. define conic section;
b. enumerate the different types of conic sections; and
c. enumerate the degenerate cases of conic sections.

CONIC SECTION
A figure formed by the intersection of a plane and a right circular double napped cone. When a
line is rotated about a fixed point, a double-napped cone is created. Depending on the angle of
the plane with respect to the cone, a conic section may be a circle, an ellipse, a parabola, or a
hyperbola.

DOUBLE NAPPED CONE

KINDS OF CONIC SECTIONS

Where:
α = the angle between the vertical axis and the generator

β = the angle of the cutting plane from the vertical axis

DEGENERATE CONIC

A degenerate conic is generated when a plane intersects the vertex of the cone. There are three
types of degenerate conics:

1. a single point when β = 900 or αβ900 ;

2. a line or two parallel lines when β=α ; and

3. two intersecting lines when 0≤βα.

GENERAL EQUATION OF CONIC SECTION

The general equation of conic section is a quadratic equation in x and y given by Ax2+By2+Cx
+Dy +E = 0, where A, B, C, D, and E are real numbers not all equal to zero.

Since there is only one general equation for all conic sections, here are some hints to help us
determine the type of conic section described by a given equation.

1. If A and B are equal, the equation may be a circle.

Example: 3x2+ 3y2+ 12x – 6y - 11 = 0

2. If A and B are not equal but have the same sign, the equation may be of an ellipse.

Example: 4x2+ 5y2+ 8x – 20y - 15 = 0

3. If A and B have opposite signs, the equation may be of a hyperbola.

Example: - 4x2+ y2+ x –+15y -21 = 0

4. If A=0 or B=0 but not both at the same time, the equation may be of a parabola.

Examples: 13x2+ 8x – 11y +15 = 0

2y2+ 8x – 5y - 19 = 0