Introduction to Conic Sections

A conic section is a curve formed

by the intersection of
_________________________
a plane and a double cone.
 History
• Conic sections is one of the
oldest math subject studied.
• The conics were discovered by
Greek mathematician
Menaechmus (c. 375-325 BC)
• Menaechmus’s intelligence
was highly regarded… he
tutored Alexander the Great.
 History
• Appollonius (c. 262-190 BC)
wrote about conics in his series
of books simply titled “Conic Appollonius
Sections”.
• Appollonious’ nickname was
“the Great Geometer”
• He was the first to base the
theory of all three conics on
sections of one circular cone.
• He is also the one to give the
name “ellipse”, “parabola”,
and “hyperbola”.
 Circles
The set of all points that are the same
distance from the center.

Standard Equation: ( x  h)  ( y  k )  r
2 2 2

With CENTER: (h, k) (h , k)

& RADIUS: r (square root) r

 Example 1
( x  2)  ( y  8)  81
2 2

-h
-k r²
Center: (h , k )  ( 2, 8)

Radius: r 9
Example 2

x  ( y  1)  1
2 2

Center ?
Radius ?
 The Ellipse
• Tilt a glass of water
and the surface of
the liquid acquires
an elliptical outline.
• Salami is often cut
obliquely to obtain
elliptical slices
which are larger.
• The early Greek astronomers thought that the
planets moved in circular orbits about an
unmoving earth, since the circle is the simplest
mathematical curve.
• In the 17th century, Johannes Kepler eventually
discovered that each planet travels around the
sun in an elliptical orbit with the sun at one of its
foci.
• On a far smaller
scale, the electrons of
an atom move in an
approximately
elliptical orbit with the
nucleus at one focus.
• Any cylinder sliced
on an angle will
reveal an ellipse in
cross-section
• (as seen in the
Tycho Brahe
Planetarium in
Copenhagen).
• The ellipse has an important property that
is used in the reflection of light and sound
waves.
• Any light or signal that starts at one focus
will be reflected to the other focus.
• The principle is also
used in the
construction of
"whispering galleries"
such as in St. Paul's
Cathedral in London.
• If a person whispers
near one focus, he can
be heard at the other
focus, although he
cannot be heard at
many places in
between.
• Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capital
building is elliptic.
• It was in this room that John
Quincy Adams, while a member
of the House of
Representatives, discovered this
acoustical phenomenon.
• He situated his desk at a focal
point of the elliptical ceiling,
easily eavesdropping on the
private conversations of other
House members located near
the other focal point.
• The ability of the ellipse to
rebound an object starting from
one focus to the other focus
can be demonstrated with an
elliptical pool table.
• When a ball is placed at one
focus and is thrust with a cue
stick, it will rebound to the other
focus.
• If the pool table is live enough,
the ball will continue passing
through each focus and
rebound to the other.
 Ellipse
Basically an ellipse is a squished circle

( x  h) ( y  k)
2 2
 1
Standard Equation:
2 2
a b
(h , k)
a
b

Center: (h , k)
a: major radius (horizontal), length from center to edge of circle
b: minor radius (vertical), length from center to top/bottom of circle
* You must square root the denominator
Example 3
This must
equal 1

( x  4) ( y  5)
2 2
 1
25 4
a² 2
b

Center: (-4 , 5)
a: 5
b: 2
 Parabola
vertex

vertex
We’ve talked about this before…
a U-shaped graph
Standard Equations:

( x  h) 2  4 p( y  k ) OR ( y  k ) 2  4 p( x  h)

This equation opens up or down This equation opens left or right

HOW DO YOU TELL…LOOK FOR THE SQUARED VARIABLE

Vertex: (h , k)
•If there is a negative in front of the squared variable, then it opens down or left.
•If there is NOT a negative, then it opens up or right.
• One of nature's best
known
approximations to
parabolas is the path
taken by a body
projected upward, as
in the parabolic
trajectory of a golf
ball.
• The easiest way to
visualize the path of a
projectile is to
observe a waterspout.
• Each molecule of
water follows the
same path and,
therefore, reveals a
picture of the curve.
• This discovery by Galileo in the 17th century
made it possible for cannoneers to work out the
kind of path a cannonball would travel if it were
hurtled through the air at a specific angle.
• Parabolas exhibit unusual and
useful reflective properties.
• If a light is placed at the focus of a
parabolic mirror, the light will be
reflected in rays parallel to its axis.
• In this way a straight beam of light
is formed.
• It is for this reason that parabolic
surfaces are used for headlamp
reflectors.
• The bulb is placed at the focus for
the high beam and in front of the
focus for the low beam.
• The opposite principle is used
in the giant mirrors in reflecting
telescopes and in antennas
used to collect light and radio
waves from outer space:
• ...the beam comes toward the
parabolic surface and is
brought into focus at the focal
point.
Example 4
1
 ( x  2)  ( y  5)
2

12
What is the vertex? (-2 , 5) How does it open? opens
down

Example 5
5 x  125( y  2) 2

What is the vertex? (0 , 2) How does it open? opens

right
 The Hyperbola
• If a right circular cone is
intersected by a plane
perpendicular to its axis, part of
a hyperbola is formed.
• Such an intersection can occur
in physical situations as simple
as sharpening a pencil that
has a polygonal cross section
or in the patterns formed on a
wall by a lamp shade.
 Hyperbolas
What I look like…two parabolas, back to back.
Standard Equations:

( x  h) ( y  k) ( y  k) ( x  h)
2 2 2 2
OR
2
 2
1 2
 2
1
a b a b
This equation opens left and right This equation opens up and down

Have I seen this before? Sort of…only now we have a minus sign in the middle

(h , k)
Center: (h , k)
Example 6

( x  4) ( y  5)
2 2
 1
25 4
Center: (-4 , 5)

Opens: Left and right

Name the conic section and its
center or vertex.
x  y  25
2 2
x  y 1
2 2
 1
x  1  ( y  2) 2

12
 1
y  3  ( x  2) 2

8
( x  2)  y  4
2 2
 2 2
x y
 1
25 9
( x  1) ( y  2)
2 2
 1
4 16
( x  2)  ( y  1)  49
2 2
( x  5)  ( y  7)  1
2 2
y  6x
2
( y  1)
2
 x 1
2

4
( y  4) ( x  5)
2 2
 1
17 5