THE ELLIPSE

ANALYTIC GEOMETRY
Basic Concepts:
1. Johannes Kepler ( 1571-1630 ) discovered that the
orbit of a planet around the sun is an ellipse with the
sun as one of the foci.
2. An ellipse is the set of all points (x,y) in a plane
whose distance from two fixed points in the plane
gives a constant sum. The two fixed points are called
the foci and the line that passes through these points
is the principal axis of the ellipse. The constant sum is
greater than the distance between the two foci.
Basic Concepts:
3. Some Properties of the Ellipse
a. Halfway between the two foci is the center of the
ellipse.
b. The points where the curve crosses the principal
axis are called the vertices of the ellipse.
c. The line perpendicular to the principal axis at the
center is the conjugate axis.
d. The points where the curves crosses the conjugate
axis are called the intercepts.
Basic Concepts:
4. The standard form of the equation of the ellipse
𝑥2 𝑦2
whose center is at the origin is 2 + 2 = 1.
𝑎 𝑏
5. Properties of the equation of the ellipse
a. The equation is quadratic in both x and y.
2 2
b. The coefficients of 𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 are not equal but
have the same sign.
c. There is no x or y terms.
Basic Concepts:
6. When the principal axis is the x-axis and the center is at the origin
a. The constant sum of the distances from any point on the ellipse to the two foci
is 2a.
b. foci: 𝐹1 𝑐, 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹2 (−𝑐, 0)
c. vertices: 𝑉1 𝑎, 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉2 (−𝑎, 0)
d. y-intercepts: 𝐵1 0, 𝑏 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵2 (0, −𝑏)
e. The line segment that joins the vertices is called the major axis of the ellipse. The
line segment joining the intercepts is called the minor axis of the ellipse. 𝑉1 𝑉2 is the
major axis with length 2a, while 𝐵1 𝐵2 is the minor axis with length 2b.
f. Since the constant sum is greater than the distance between the foci, then a>c
and a>b. In fact, 𝑎2 + 𝑏 2 = 𝑐 2 .
g. To graph, locate the vertices at (±a,0) and intercepts at (0,±b). Then join the
points by a smooth curve.
Basic Concepts:
7. When the principal axis is the y-axis
a. The constant sum of the distance from any point on the
ellipse to the two foci is 2b.
b. foci: 𝐹1 0, 𝑐 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐹2 (0, −𝑐)
c. vertices: 𝑉1 0, 𝑏 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑉2 (0, −𝑏)
d. intercepts: 𝐴1 𝑎, 0 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐴2 (−𝑎, 0)
e. The major axis, 𝑉1 𝑉2 , has length 2b while the minor axis,
𝐴1 𝐴2 , has length 2a. Since the constant sum is greater than the
distance between the two foci, b>c and b>a. In fact, 𝑏 2 =
𝑎2 + 𝑐 2 .
Basic Concepts:
8. The various shapes of the ellipse are determined by the
ratio of the center-to-focus distance, c, to the center-to-
vertex distance, a. This ratio is called the eccentricity of the
ellipse. When the principal axis is at the x-axis, the center-to-
𝑐
vertex distance is a, thus the eccentricity is the ratio 𝑒 = .
𝑎
The value of c is determined from 𝑐 = 𝑎2 − 𝑏 2 , where
a>b.
9. The value of c varies from c = 0 when a = b to c = a when
b = 0. When c = 0, the ellipse becomes a circle where the
two foci coincide at the center of the circle. The eccentricity
is zero, e = 0.
Basic Concepts:
10. As the value of c increases to a, the ellipse flattens.
When c = a, e = 1. This time b = 0 and the two foci
coincide with the two vertices. The ellipse degenerates
into a line segment on the x-axis.
11. When the principal axis is the y-axis, the center-to-
𝑐
vertex is b and the eccentricity is the ratio 𝑒 = . The
𝑏
value of c varies from c = 0 to c = b. Note that when c
= b, the ellipse will degenerate into a line segment on
the y-axis.
Examples:
1. Find the standard form of the equation of an ellipse
with foci at (±3,0) and vertices at (±5,0). Sketch the
graph.
2. Solve for the length of the major and minor axes of
the ellipse defined by the equation 4𝑥 2 + 9𝑥 2 = 36.
Determine the vertices, the y-intercepts and foci. Then
sketch the ellipse in the xy-plane.
3. An ellipse has its foci at (0, ± 12 and vertices at ( 0,
± 4 ). Sketch the graph and determine its equation in
standard from.
Examples:
4. Given the equation 25𝑥 2 + 9𝑦 2 = 225. Identify the
principal axis and determine the following. The sketch the
graph of the ellipse.
a. The length of the major and minor axes.
b. The coordinates of the vertices, the intercepts and the
foci.
5. Find the standard form of the equation of the ellipse with
the following geometric properties.
a. Foci at ±3,0 and the length of minor axis is 8.
b. Foci at (0, ± 7) and the length of major axis is 6.
Exercises
1. Express the following equations of ellipse in standard
form. Identify the principal axis and determine the lengths
of the major and minor axes and the coordinates of the
vertices, intercepts and foci. Then sketch the graph of each
equation.
a. 𝑥 2 + 4𝑦 2 = 4
2 2
b. 4𝑥 + 25𝑦 = 100
c. 25𝑥 2 + 36𝑦 2 = 900
d. 49𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 49
e. 36𝑥 2 + 16𝑦 2 = 576
Exercises
2. Find the equation of each ellipse with center at the
origin and with the following geometric conditions.
a. Foci at (±2,0) and vertices at (±4,0)
b. Foci at (0, ±3) and vertices at (0, ±4)
c. Minor axis of length 4 and vertices at (0, ±5)
d. Major axis of length 10 and foci at (±4,0)
e. One vertex is at ( 6 , 0 ) and foci at (±5,0)
Exercises
3. Determine the eccentricity of each of the following
equations of the ellipse.
a. 11𝑥 2 + 36𝑦 2 = 396
b. 9𝑥 2 + 8𝑦 2 = 72
c. 3𝑥 2 + 4𝑦 2 = 48
2 2
d. 99𝑥 + 100𝑦 = 9900
e. 17𝑥 2 + 81𝑦 2 = 1377