ELLIPSOID

A TYPE OF QUADRATIC SURFACE

Presented by
RITUPON MINZ
B.Sc 5th Semester
CONTENTS
1. Introduction.
2. Defination of an ellipsoid.
3. Standard equation of an ellipsoid.
4. Characteristics of an ellipsoid.
5. Special cases.
6. Example.
7. Conclusion.
8. References.
 INTRODUCTION

An ellipsoid is a shape like a sphere , but it may be longer

in one or more directions. It is the 3 dimensional analogue
of an ellipse.
Isaac Newton predicted the Earth’s rotation , its shape
should be an ellipsoid rather than spherical , and careful
measurements confirmed his prediction.
DEFINITION OF ELLIPSOID
An Ellipsoid is a closed
surface of which all
plane cross-section are
either ellipses or circles.
An ellipsoid is
symmetrical about three
mutually perpendicular
axes that intersect at the
centre.
 Standard Equation of Ellipsoid:
The ellipsoid is defined in Cartesian coordinates as :
x2/a2 + y2/b2 + z2/c2 = 1
where a ,b , c are the length of semi axes and three pairwise
perpendicular axes of symmetry which intersect at a center of
symmetry, called the center of an ellipsoid.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF AN
ELLIPSOID

1) All three squared terms(degree two)

are present.
2) All three squared terms(degree two) are
positive when the equation is equal to one.
3)All three traces are ellipses.
 Special Cases
1. If a = b = c, then the
surface is sphere.
Example: Football.

2. If two axes are equal,

say a = b and different
from the third, c, then
the ellipsoid is a
spheroid.
Example: The earth.
 Example
Sketch the ellipsoid and show the traces where appropriate

x2/16+y2/25+z2/4 = 1
The x-intercepts can be obtained by setting y= 0 and z= 0 in the
equation. This yields x = ±4. Similarly, the y – intercepts are
y = ±5 , and z-intercepts are z = ±2, Sketching the elliptical
traces in the coordinate plans yields the graph in the figure.
y z z
5

2 2

x x y
4 5
4

xy- trace
xz- trace yz- trace
Another example
Sketch the ellipsoid

solution:
The x-intercepts can be obtained by setting
y=0 and z=0 in the equation .This gives
x= +2 and x = -2 Similarly , the y intercepts
are y = +4 and y= -4 and z-intercepts are
z=+3 and z=-3.Sketching the ellipitical traces
in the coordinate plans gives the graph.
Figure:
CONCLUSION
In this discussion we have learned about
the defination and equation of an ellipsoid
and how can we determine an ellipsoid
from the equation of quadratic surface.
And ellipsoid are commonly used as
surrogates for geoids so as to simplify the
mathematics involved in relating a
coordinate system grid with a model of
the Earth’s shape.
REFERENCES
Calculus by G.B. Thomas and R.L. Finny
https://youtu.be/uTUB_a-tyWI
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsoid

THANK YOU