Conic Sections Notes

In mathematics a conic section (or just conic) is a curve formed by intersecting a cone (more precisely, a right circular conical surface) with a plane. The conic sections, which have been studied for over 2000 years. Many people have contributed to this study, and many historical references and texts exist to document this study. Apollonius of Perga, one of the greatest Greek mathematicians of the time (circa 200 B.C.), appears to have been the first to have rigorously studied the conic sections. He applied his work to his study of planetary motion and used this to aid in the development of Greek astronomy. In geometry, a (general) conical surface (a cone) is the unbounded surface formed by the union of all the straight lines that pass through a fixed point - the apex or vertex - and any point of some fixed space curve - the directrix - that does not contain the apex. Each of those lines is called a generatrix of the surface. In general, a cone consists of two identical unbounded halves joined by the vertex. It was Apollonius (mentioned above) who was the first to note that the conic sections could be constructed apart from algebraic equations by cutting the right--circular cone with a plane. As a matter of fact, Apollonius did not note the connection of the conics to their algebraic equations. These equations did not enter the mathematical picture for hundreds of years.

This is a diagram showing the relative "curvature" of the conic sections, as measured by their eccentricity.

Parabola
Definition: locus of points (x,y) that are the same distance from a fixed line (called the directrix) and a fixed point (focus) not on the directrix.

Parabola

Standard Form Vertical Axis Horizontal Axis

( x h)
directrix vertex focus length of latus rectum eccentricity

= 4 p ( y k ) , p 0 y=k p

(y k)

= 4 p ( x h ) , p 0 x =h p

( h, k ) ( h, k p )
4p e= c , e =1 a

( h, k ) ( h p, k )
4p

Examples of applications of the parabola: 1.) antenna of a radio telescope 2.) cable of a suspension bridge 3.) flashlights 4.) parabolic reflector 5.) path of a projectile 6.) solar furnace

Ellipse
Definition: locus of points (x, y) in the plane such that the sum of the distances from (x, y) to two fixed points is some constant. The two fixed points are called the foci, which is the plural of focus.

Ellipse

Standard Form Major Axis Horizontal Major Axis Vertical 0<b<a

( x h)
a2 center vertices foci length of major axis length of minor axis eccentricity

(y k) +
b2

=1

( x h)
b2

(y k) +
a2

=1

( h, k ) ( h a , k ) , ( h, k b ) ( h c, k )
2a 2b e=

( h, k ) ( h, k a ) , ( h b, k ) ( h, k c )
2a 2b c 2 , c = a 2 b2 , 0 < e < 1 a

Examples of applications of the ellipse: 1.) elliptical gears for machine tools 2.) optics 3.) orbit of a planet with the sun as a focus 4.) orbits of moons, satellites and comets 5.) ray emanating at one focus is reflected to the other 6.) whispering gallery

Circle
Definition: locus of points that are equidistant from a point (center).

Standard Form

( x h)
center length of radius length of diameter circumference area eccentricity

+ ( y k ) = r2
2

r>0

( h, k )
r 2r 2 r

r2
e=0

Hyperbola
Definition: locus of points in the plane the difference of whose distances from two fixed points is some constant. The two fixed points are called the foci.

Examples of applications of the hyperbola: 1.) comet path 2.) gear design 3.) navigation 4.) telescopic lenses

Hyperbola

Standard Form Transverse Axis Horizontal Transverse Axis Vertical 0<b<a

( x h)
a2 center vertices foci asymptotes transverse axis length of transverse axis length of conjugate axis eccentricity

(y k)
b2

=1

(y k)
a2

( x h)
b2

=1

( h, k ) ( h a, k ) ( h c, k )
y=k b ( x h) a y=k 2a 2b e= c 2 , c = a 2 + b2 , e > 1 a

( h, k ) ( h, k a ) ( h, k c )
y=k a ( x h) b x=h 2a 2b

Shifted Conic Sections

General Form of a Conic Section Ax 2 + Bxy + Cy 2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0 if there is no xy term, then the conic has only been "shifted" horizontally and/or vertically. if there is a xy term, then the conic has only been "rotated" relative to the normal positions of the x - and y -axes. General Form of a Shifted Conic Section condition A or C = 0 A= 0 A and C have the same sign A and C have opposite signs conic parabola circle ellipse hyperbola Ax 2 + Cy 2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0

To convert from General Form to Standard Form 1) if necessary, complete the square(s) 2) use arithmetic operations to get into final form To graph a conic, starting from General Form 1) Get the equation into "quadratic" form 2) solve for y 3) place in the function editor, you may need to use two y variables to get the complete graph

Rotation of Axes
General Form of a Conic Section Ax 2 + Bxy + Cy 2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0 If there is a xy term, then the conic has been "rotated" relative to the normal positions of the x- and y -axes. It may be necessary to perform a "rotation of axes" to readily determine the type of conic that is involved. Rotation of Axes The general second degree equation Ax 2 + Bxy + Cy 2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0 can be rewritten as AX 2 + CY 2 + DX + EY + F = 0 by rotating the axes through an angle where AC B The coefficients of the new equation are obtained by making the substitutions cot = x = X cos Y sin X = x sin + y cos

Conversion back to the original can be done by making the substitutions y = X sin + Y cos Y = x sin y cos

Conic Sections in Polar Coordinates

r= ed ed or r = 1 e cos 1 e sin e = eccentricity e =1 0 < e <1 e >1

Conic parabola ellipse hyperbola

Conic Sections can be graphed in polar coordinates with calculator in polar mode, don't forget to use radians and not degrees.