Ellipse

Lesson 4
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 Ellipse

An ellipse is a set of all points in a

plane, the sum whose distances from
two fixed points is a constant. The fixed
points are called foci.
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 Let say, if 𝐹1 and 𝐹2 are two fixed points and 𝑘 is positive constant, then the
ellipse determined by 𝐹1 , 𝐹2 and 𝑘 is the set of points 𝑃(𝑥, 𝑦) such that 𝑃𝐹1 + 𝑃𝐹2 = 𝑘.
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 Since 𝑘 > 𝐹1 𝐹2 = 2𝑐, we will set 𝑘 = 2𝑎, 𝑎 > 𝑐. If 𝑃(𝑥, 𝑦) is any point then

𝑥 − 𝑐 ሻ2 + ሺ
𝑃𝐹1 = ඥሺ 𝑦 − 0ሻ2 = ඥሺ
𝑥 − 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2

𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + ሺ
𝑃𝐹2 = ඥሺ 𝑦 − 0ሻ2 = ඥሺ
𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2

𝑃𝐹1 + 𝑃𝐹2 = 2𝑎

𝑥 − 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 + ඥሺ
ඥሺ 𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 = 2𝑎

𝑥 − 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 = 2𝑎 − ඥሺ
ඥሺ 𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2
2
ቂඥሺ
𝑥− 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦2 = 2𝑎 − ඥሺ
𝑥+ 𝑐 ሻ2 + 2
𝑦 ቃ

𝑥 − 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 = 4𝑎2 − 2ሺ
ሺ 𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2
𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 + ሺ
2𝑎ሻඥሺ

𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 = 4𝑎2 + 4𝑐𝑥
4𝑎ඥሺ

𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 = 𝑎2 + 𝑐𝑥
𝑎 ඥሺ
2
𝑎2 + 𝑐𝑥 ሻ2
𝑥 + 𝑐 ሻ2 + 𝑦 2 ቃ = ሺ
ቂ𝑎ඥሺ

𝑎2 (𝑥 2 + 2𝑐𝑥 + 𝑐 2 + 𝑦 2 ) = 𝑎4 + 2𝑎2 𝑐𝑥 + 𝑐 2 𝑥 2
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𝑎2 𝑥 2 − 𝑐 2 𝑥 2 + 𝑎2 𝑦 2 = 𝑎4 − 𝑎2 𝑐 2
𝑎2 − 𝑐 2 ሻ𝑥 2 + 𝑎2 𝑦 2 = 𝑎2 ሺ
ሺ 𝑎2 − 𝑐 2 ሻ

𝑥2 𝑦2
2
+ 2 2
=1
𝑎 𝑎 −𝑐
 2 2 2 2 2
Since 𝑎 > 𝑐, the number 𝑎 − 𝑐 is positive; we let 𝑏 = 𝑎 − 𝑐 . Then we can
𝑥 2 𝑦 2
write the equation of the ellipse in the form 𝑎 2 + 𝑏 2 = 1.

The ellipse can also be defined as the locus of points whose distance from the
focus is proportional to the horizontal distance from a directrix, where the ratio is less
than 1. This can be illustrated as shown in figure 3.2 below, where the ratio between the
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distance between 𝑃𝐹1 and 𝑃𝐹2 are less than 1.

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 The ratio is called the eccentricity e of the ellipse. The shape of the ellipse is dependent
on the value of eccentricity. If 𝑒 = 0, or 𝑐 = 0, then 𝑎 = 𝑏, the ellipse is a circle. But if 𝑒 =
1, or 𝑐 = 𝑎 and 𝑏 = 0, the graph is the line segment joining the foci. As 𝑒 increases from
0 to 1, the ellipse becomes narrow as shown in figure 3.3.
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 The center of an ellipse is the intersection of the major axis and the minor axis. In
the case of figure 3.1, the center is at the origin. The line that passes through both foci is
an axis of symmetry and meets at two points called vertices as shown in figure 3.5 and
figure 3.6. The line joining the vertices and the foci is called the major axis (or traverse
axis) and has a length of 2𝑎. The number 𝑎 is called the semi-major axis of the ellipse.
On the other hand, the line segment which is a perpendicular bisector of the major axis
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is called minor axis (or conjugate axis) with a length of 2𝑏, thus 𝑏 is called the semi-
minor axis of the ellipse.
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 Directrix is a line such that the ratio of distance of the points on the conic section from
focus to its distance from the directrix is constant. Latus rectum (plural; latera recta) is
the chord that passes through the focus, and is perpendicular to the major axis and has
both endpoints on the curve. The length of the latus rectum of an ellipse is twice the
2𝑏 2
square of the minor axis divided by the length of the major axis (𝑜𝑟 ቀ 𝑎 ቁ). An ellipse has
4𝑏 2
two latera recta with a total length of ( 𝑎 ).

𝑥2 𝑦2
Figure 3.5 illustrate the horizontal ellipse with an equation of ቀ 2 ቁ+ ቀ 2 ቁ= 1,
𝑎 𝑏
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while figure 3.6 illustrate the graph of a vertical ellipse with an equation of
𝑦2 𝑥2
ቀ 2 ቁ+ ቀ 2 ቁ= 1.
𝑎 𝑏
 For simplicity the following will be represented as:
𝐶 = 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠𝑒
𝐹1 , 𝐹2 = 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑖 (𝑝𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠)
𝑉1 , 𝑉2 = 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝐵1 , 𝐵2 = 𝑐𝑜 − 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠(𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠)
𝑃ሺ
𝑥, 𝑦ሻ = 𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑝𝑠𝑒
𝐷1 , 𝐷2 = 𝑑𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠
𝐸1 , 𝐸2 , 𝐸3 , 𝐸4 = 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑎
𝑎 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑥
𝑏 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑝𝑜𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
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𝑐 = 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑐𝑢𝑠

𝑒 = 𝑒𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦
2𝑎 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑗𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
2𝑏 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠
 Properties of the Ellipse
1. The length of the major axis is 2𝑎.
2. The length of the minor axis is 2𝑏.
𝑏2
3. The length of the latus rectum is .
𝑎

4. The center is the intersection of the axes.

5. The endpoints of the major axis are called the vertices.
6. The endpoints of the minor axis are called the co-vertices.
7. The line segment joining the vertices is called the major axis.
8. The line segment joining the co-vertices is called the minor axis.
9. The eccentricity of the ellipse is 0 < 𝑒 < 1.

Theorem 3.1: If in the general equation of an ellipse 𝐴𝑥 2 + 𝐶𝑦 2 + 𝐷𝑥 + 𝐸𝑦 + 𝐹 = 0, 𝐵 = 0

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and 𝐶 > 0, then the graph is ellipse, a point, or the empty set.

Theorem 3.2: The eccentricity 𝑒 of an ellipse is the ratio of the undirected distance between
𝑐
the foci to the undirected distance between vertices; that is 𝑒 = 𝑎 .
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 Equations of Ellipse
Cente Major General Form Standard Form
r Axis

(
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 Convert the following general equations to standard form of ellipse.
2 2 2 2
1. 9𝑥 + 8𝑦 = 288 3. 9𝑥 + 6𝑦 + 54𝑥 −24𝑦 + 110 = 0
2 2
2. 3𝑥 + 4𝑦 + 24𝑥 −16𝑦 + 52 = 0
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