Equation of an ellipse

The  exercise appears under the Algebra II Math Mission. This exercise practices analyzing information about an ellipse.

Types of Problems
There is one type of problem in this exercise:


 * 1) Use the form to find the center and radii: This problem provides the equation of an ellipse in an already convenient form. The student is asked to correctly identify the center, major radius, and minor radius of the ellipse.Eoae1.png

Strategies
Knowledge of all the conics are encouraged to ensure success on this exercise.
 * 1) The center of the ellipse can be found by observing the horizontal and vertical shift of the conic.
 * 2) The radii are the square roots of the numbers under the x^2 and y^2. The major is the larger and the minor is the smaller.

Real-life Applications

 * 1) Conics have uses in optics, for making mirrors to reflect light, and acoustics, to amplify sounds.
 * 2) Conics model motion of celestial bodies due to laws of physics.