More Problems on Conic

Sections
Prepared by: Engr. M. R. Serrano
Identifying the Conic Section by Inspection

 The equation of a circle may be written in standard form

that is, the coefficients of and are the same.

However, it does not follow that if the coefficients of and are the
same, the graph is a circle.
 Identifying the Conic Section by Inspection
 Let us recall the general form of the equations of the other conic sections. We
may write the equations of conic sections we discussed in the general form

Some terms may vanish, depending on the kind of conic section.

 (1) Circle: both and appear, and their coefficients are the same

Example:
Degenerate cases: a point, and the empty set
 Identifying the Conic Section by Inspection

(2) Parabola: exactly one of or appears

(D 6= 0, opens upward or downward)
(C 6= 0, opens to the right or left)
Length of latus rectum=4c
Eccentricity=d1/d2=1
Examples: (opens downward)
(opens to the right)
 Identifying the Conic Section by Inspection

(3) Ellipse: both and appear, and their coefficients A and B have the same
sign and are unequal
Examples: (horizontal major axis)
(vertical major axis)
Length of latus rectum=2b^2/a
Eccentricity=c/a < 1
If A=B, we will classify the conic as a circle, instead of an ellipse.
Degenerate cases: a point, and an empty set
 Identifying the Conic Section by Inspection

(4) Hyperbola: both and appear, and their coefficients A and B have the
same sign and are unequal
Examples: 5 (horizontal transverse axis)
- (vertical transverse axis)
Length of latus rectum=2b^2/a
Eccentricity=c/a
Degenerate cases: two intersecting lines
 Identifying the Conic Section by Inspection

A Note on Identifying a Conic Section

by Its General Equation
It is only after transforming a given general equation to standard
form that we can identify its graph either as one of the degenerate
conic sections (a point, two intersecting lines, or the empty set) or as one of the
non-degenerate conic sections (circle, parabola, ellipse, or hyperbola).
 Problems Involving Different Conic Sections

 Identify the graph of each of the following equations.

 Problems Involving Different Conic Sections

 Identify the graph of each of the following equations.

 Problems Involving Different Conic Sections

 Identify the graph of each of the following equations.

 49
 Problems Involving Different Conic Sections

 Identify the graph of each of the following equations.

 36
 Problems Involving Different Conic Sections

 Identify the graph of each of the following equations.