Introduction to Conic

Sections

Teacher Aldwin N. Petronio

• 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 Sections”.
• Appollonious’ nickname was “the Great Appollonius
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
 Circles
The set of all points that are the same distance
from the center.

Standard Equation:

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

RADIUS: r (square root) r

 Example 1

h k
r²
Center: (h,k) = (2-8 )

Radius: r =9
Example 2

Center ?
Radius ?
Ellipses
• Salami is often cut obliquely to obtain elliptical slices,
which are larger.
 Ellipses
Basically, an ellipse is a squished circle

Standard Equation:

(h , k)
a
b

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

a² b2

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

Standard Equations:

p>0 Opens UP Opens RIGHT

p<0 Opens DOWN Opens LEFT

• One of nature's best approximations to
parabolas is the path of a projectile.
• 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

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

opens
What is the vertex? How
(0 , 2) does it open? 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
 Hyperbolas
Looks like: two parabolas, back to back.
Center: (h , k) Standard Equations:

Opens LEFT and RIGHT Opens UP and DOWN

(h , k)
(h , k)
Hyperbolas – Transverse Axis
 Hyperbolas - Application
A sonic boom shock wave has the shape
of a cone, and it intersects the ground in
part of a hyperbola. It hits every point on
this curve at the same time, so that
people in different places along the curve
on the ground hear it at the same time.
Because the airplane is moving forward,
the hyperbolic curve moves forward and
eventually the boom can be heard by
everyone in its path.
Example 6

Center: (-4 , 5)

Opens: Left and right

Name the conic section and its
center or vertex.
Assignment:
1. Find the center point of the following circle x2 + y2 + 8x + 4y - 3 = 40.
2. Give the standard equation of the circle satisfying the given condition in Figure 1.7
3. Which answer choice shows the center of the circle with the equation x 2 +
y2 -8x +14y +57.

4. Find the standard equation of the parabola with focus F(0, -3.5) and
directrix y = 3.5.
5. Find the standard equation of the hyperbola which satisfies the given
condition:

6. What kind of symmetry does a circle have?

7. Find the standard equation of the hyperbola which satisfies the given
condition:
Center (-6, 9), a vertex (-6, 15), conjugate axis of length 12

8. Give the standard equation of the circle satisfying the given condition:
center at the origin, radius 4. Give the standard equation of the circle
satisfying the given condition: center at the origin, radius 4.
9. Determine the asymptotes of the equation:

10. What is the standard form of the equation of the circle x 2 + y2 + 10x - 4y -
7 = 0?
11. In order to graph a circle one must graph all the points that are
equidistant from _________.

12. A semielliptical tunnel has height 9 ft and a width of 30 ft. A truck that is
about to pass through is 12 ft wide and 8.3 ft high. Will this truck be able to
pass through the tunnel? Yes or no?

13. An orbit of a satellite around a planet is an ellipse, with the planet at one
focus of this ellipse. The distance of the satellite from this star varies from
300,000 km to 500,000 km, attained when the satellite is at each of the two
vertices. Find the equation of this ellipse, if its center is at the origin, and the
vertices are on the x-axis. Assume all units are in 100,000 km.
14. Find the standard equation of the hyperbola which satisfies the given
condition:
Foci (-4, -3) and (-4, 13), the absolute value of the difference of the distances
of any point from the foci is 14.
15. Determine the directrix of the parabola with the equation x2 - 6x + 5y =
-34. Answer in complete equation. (For example: y = 5)

16. Find the standard equation of the ellipse which satisfies the given
conditions.
b. center (5,3), horizontal major axis of length 20, minor axis of length 16.

17. Find the standard equation of the ellipse which satisfies the given
conditions.
•c.major axis of length 22, foci 9 units above and below the center (2,4)
18. Determine the axis of symmetry of the parabola with the
equation x2 - 6x + 5y = -34. Answer in complete equation.
(For example: x = -4.3)
Acknowledgements
http://hotmath.com/hotmath_help/topics/parabolas.html

http://www.funwearsports.com/NHL/CAPITALS/WCDomedH
ockeyPuck.gif
Mathwarehouse.com
http://britton.disted.camosun.bc.ca/jbconics.htm
schools.paulding.k12.ga.us/.../Introduction_to_Conics.ppt