Lecture Notes, M261-004, Conic Sections: 1 Parabolas

Lecture Notes, M261-004, Conic Sections
Aug 25, 2008

Today we are discussing conic sections. A conic section is the set of points obtained from intersecting a plane with a cone. (Draw a picture.) Although we use a three-dimensional picture to initially dene a conic section, we consider them in 2D. The three main types of conic sections are parabolas, ellipses and hyperbolas. For each of these, we will give a denition, look at some key related terms, consider the standard equation and look at some examples.
Parabolas
First we consider parabloas. To construct a parabola, we need a point P, the focus and a line L, the directrix. The parabola is then the set of points such that distance to the focus is equal to the distance to the directrix. We look at simple parabolas here where the directrix is either a vertical or horizontal line and the directrix and focus straddle the origin. Suppose a parabola has the point (0, p) as its focus and the line y = p as its directrix (where p is some positive number). If the point (x, y ) is in the parabola, then the distance to the directrix is given by (y + p)2 The distance to the focus is given by x2 + (y p)2 So we have (y + p)2 = x2 + (y p)2 x2 = 4py
y 2 + 2py + p2 = x2 + y 2 2py + p2 Notice that the y coordinate must be positive. Using similar arguments to the ones above, we can get four basic standard forms of the equation for a parabola: x2 = 4py x2 = 4py y 2 = 4px y 2 = 4px The line that is perpendicular to the directrix and that passes through the focus is called the axis of the parabola. The parabola is symmetric about this line. The point where the parabola intersects the axis is called the vertex of the parabola. 1
Applying standard shift formulas to the standard forms, we can get parabolas with vertices at other points than the origin. (x x0 )2 = 4p(y y0 ), for example, has its vertex at the point (x0 , y0 ). Example 1. Find the focus, directrix, axis and vertex of the parabola y = Putting this in standard form, we have x2 = 16y = 4 4y So the focus is at (0, 4) and the directrix is y = 4. The axis is x = 0 and the vertex is (0, 0). Example 2. Find the focus, directrix, axis and vertex of the parabola (x 1)2 = 4(y 2). We have here a parabola with vertex at the origin, directrix at y = p and focus at (0, p) that has been shifted to (1, 2), so we need to make the appropriate shifts to its components. We nd that the focus is at (1, 2 p), the directrix is y = p + 2, the vertex is (1, 2) and the axis is x = 1. Example 3. Give the standard form of the parabola whose focus is (3, 4) and directrix is x = 1. The vertex is halfway between the focus and directrix, at (2, 4). The parabola opens to the right, so the standard form is (y 4)2 = 4(x 2) In the special case where the focus is on the directrix, then the resulting parabola is actually just a straight line.
x2 16 .
Ellipses
Next we consider ellipses. To construct an ellipse, we need to points, which we call foci, and a positive number greater than the distance between the two points. The ellipse is the set of points for which the sum of the distances to the two foci is equal the positive number. Suppose we choose the points (c, 0) and (c, 0) (where c is a positive number) as our foci and 2a with a > c to be the sum of the distances. Now, if (x, y ) is a point on the ellipse dened by these numbers, then (x + c)2 + y 2 + (x c)2 + y 2 = 2a (x c)2 + y 2 (x c)2 + y 2
c2 x2 2a2 cx + a4 = a2 (x c)2 + a2 y 2 (a2 c2 )x2 + a2 y 2 = a2 (a2 c2 ) x2 y2 + 2 =1 2 a a c2 y2 x2 + =1 a2 b2
cx a2 = a (x c)2 + y 2
(x + c)2 + y 2 = 4a2 + (x c)2 + y 2 4a
(x + c)2 + y 2 = 2a
where b =
a2 c2 . This is the standard form of the equation for an ellipse. 2
The line dened by the two foci of the ellipse is called the focal axis of the ellipse. The point on the focal axis halfway between the two foci is called the center of the ellipse. As before, we could use the shift formulas to write down the standard formula for an ellipse centered at a point other than the origin. Note that a2 is always bigger than b2 . We could also have an ellipse x2 y2 + 2 =1 2 b a where the foci are along the y-axis instead of the x-axis. The vertices are the two points where the ellipse intersects the focal axis. The line segment of length 2a that joins them is called the major axis. The number a is called the semimajor axis. Now consider the line perpendicular to the focal axis running through the center. It intersects the ellipse at two points, and the line segment connecting these points is called the minor axis. Its length is 2b, the number b is called the semiminor axis. We can nd c, the distance from the center to a focus, by c = a2 b2 . Example 4. Find the foci, center, and the major and minor axes of the ellipse dened by x2 y2 + =1 9 25
2 2 It is evident that the center is the origin. Since y has a larger denominator than x , the foci lie along the y-axis. We have c = 25 9 = 4, so the foci are at (0, 4) and (0, 4). The major axis joins (0, 5) and (0, 5) while the minor axis joins (3, 0) and (3, 0).
Example 5. Find the standard form of the equation whose foci are (2, 0) and (2, 0) and whose semimajor axis is 4. Clearly, c = 2. This gives b = 12. The origin is the center, so the standard form is x2 y2 + =1 16 12 In the special case where the two foci are the same point, a2 = b2 and we have a circle. In the even more special case of a circle with radius 0, we have a single point.
Hyperbolas
Finally we consider hyperbolas. As before, we have two points called foci and a constant. Now, however, we are looking for points such that the dierence between the distances to the two foci is equal to this number. If the foci are at (c, 0) and (c, 0), then we have (x + c)2 + y 2 (x c)2 + y 2 = 2a for every point on the hyperbola. Note that now a < c. (Otherwise, the equation does not make sense.) With similar calculations as before, we now have y2 x2 =1 a2 b2 Of course, we can also have the foci on the y-axis: y2 x2 =1 a2 b2 3
where b = c2 a2 . The focal axis again is the the line dened by the two foci, and the center is the point on the focal axis halfway between the two foci. The vertices, again, are the two points where to focal axis intersects the hyperbola. If we solve the standard form for y , we get a2 b y = x 1 2. a x
b x. These lines are the The quantity inside the square root goes to 1 as x , so y a asymptotes.
Example 6. Find the foci, vertices and asymptotes of the hyperbola
x2 y2 = 1. 16 9 The foci lie on the x-axis and the center is at the origin. We have c = a2 + b2 = 5. So the foci are at (5, 0) and (5, 0). The vertices are at (4, 0) and (4, 0). The asymptotes are y = 3 4 x. b2 = c2 a2 = 8. So the standard formula is y2 x2 = 1. 8
Example 7. Find the standard form of the hyperbola with foci at (0, 3) and (0, 3) and a = 1.
Example 8. Find the standard form of the hyperbola with asymptotes y = 4x and vertices at (2, 0) and (2, 0). We have b = 8, so the standard formula is y2 x2 = 1. 4 64 The foci, incidentally, are at ( 68, 0)

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Lecture Notes, M261-004, Conic Sections

Aug 25, 2008

c2 x2 2a2 cx + a4 = a2 (x c)2 + a2 y 2 (a2 c2 )x2 + a2 y 2 = a2 (a2 c2 ) x2 y2 + 2 =1 2 a a c2 y2 x2 + =1 a2 b2

(x + c)2 + y 2 = 4a2 + (x c)2 + y 2 4a

a2 c2 . This is the standard form of the equation for an ellipse. 2

Example 6. Find the foci, vertices and asymptotes of the hyperbola

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