Parametric Equations

10 and Polar Coordinates

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10.5 Conic Sections

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

Conic Sections
In this section we give geometric definitions of parabolas,
ellipses, and hyperbolas and derive their standard
equations. They are called conic sections, or conics,
because they result from intersecting a cone with a plane
as shown in Figure 1.

Conics
Figure 1 3
Parabolas

4
Parabolas
A parabola is the set of points in a plane that are
equidistant from a fixed point F (called the focus) and a
fixed line (called the directrix). This definition is illustrated
by Figure 2.

Figure 2

5
Parabolas
Notice that the point halfway between the focus and the
directrix lies on the parabola; it is called the vertex.

The line through the focus perpendicular to the directrix is

called the axis of the parabola.

In the 16th century Galileo showed that the path of a

projectile that is shot into the air at an angle to the ground
is a parabola. Since then, parabolic shapes have been
used in designing automobile headlights, reflecting
telescopes, and suspension bridges.

6
Parabolas
We obtain a particularly simple equation for a parabola if
we place its vertex at the origin O and its directrix parallel to
the x-axis as in Figure 3.

Figure 3

7
Parabolas
If the focus is the point (0, p), then the directrix has the
equation y = –p. If P (x, y) is any point on the parabola,
then the distance from P to the focus is

| PF | =

and the distance from P to the directrix is | y + p |. (Figure 3

illustrates the case where p > 0.)

8
Parabolas
The defining property of a parabola is that these distances
are equal:

= |y + p|

We get an equivalent equation by squaring and

simplifying:

x2 + (y – p)2 = | y + p |2 = (y + p)2

x2 + y2 – 2py + p2 = y2 + 2py + p2

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Parabolas
x2 = 4py

If we write a = 1/(4p), then the standard equation of a

parabola becomes y = ax2.

10
Parabolas
It opens upward if p > 0 and downward if p < 0
[see Figure 4, parts (a) and (b)].

(a) x2 = 4py, p > 0 (b) x2 = 4py, p < 0

Figure 4
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Parabolas
The graph is symmetric with respect to the y-axis because
is unchanged when is replaced by –x.

If we interchange x and y in , we obtain

which is an equation of the parabola with focus (p, 0)

and directrix x = –p. (Interchanging x and y amounts to
reflecting about the diagonal line y = x.)

12
Parabolas
The parabola opens to the right if p > 0 and to the left if
p < 0 [see Figure 4, parts (c) and (d)].

(c) y2 = 4px, p > 0 (d) y2 = 4px, p < 0

Figure 4

In both cases the graph is symmetric with respect to the

x-axis, which is the axis of the parabola. 13
Example 1
Find the focus and directrix of the parabola y2 + 10x = 0
and sketch the graph.

Solution:
If we write the equation as y2 = –10x and compare it with
Equation 2, we see that 4p = –10, so p =

Thus the focus is (p, 0) = ( , 0) and the directrix is x =

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Example 1 – Solution cont’d

The sketch is shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5

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Ellipses

16
Ellipses
An ellipse is the set of points in a plane the sum of whose
distances from two fixed points F1 and F2 is a constant
(see Figure 6).

Figure 6

These two fixed points are called the foci (plural of focus).
One of Kepler’s laws is that the orbits of the planets in the
solar system are ellipses with the sun at one focus.
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Ellipses
In order to obtain the simplest equation for an ellipse, we
place the foci on the x-axis at the points (– c, 0) and (c, 0)
as in Figure 7 so that the origin is halfway between the foci.

Figure 7

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Ellipses
Let the sum of the distances from a point on the ellipse to
the foci be 2a > 0. Then P (x, y) is a point on the ellipse
when

| PF1 | + | PF2 | = 2a

that is,

or

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Ellipses
Squaring both sides, we have
x2 – 2cx + c2 + y2

= 4a2 – 4a + x2 + 2cx + c2 + y2
which simplifies to

We square again:
a2(x2 + 2cx + c2 + y2) = a4 + 2a2cx + c2x2
which becomes
(a2 – c2)x2 + a2y2 = a2(a2 – c2) 20
Ellipses
From triangle F1F2P in Figure 7 we see that 2c < 2a, so
c < a and therefore a2 – c2 > 0. For convenience,
let b2 = a2 – c2.

Then the equation of the ellipse becomes

b2x2 + a2y2 = a2b2 or, if both sides are divided by a2b2,

Since b2 = a2 – c2 < a2, it follows that b < a.

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Ellipses
The x-intercepts are found by setting y = 0. Then
x2/a2 = 1, or x2 = a2, so x = a.

The corresponding points (a, 0) and (–a, 0) are called the

vertices of the ellipse and the line segment joining the
vertices is called the major axis. To find the y-intercepts
we set x = 0 and obtain y2 = b2, so y = b.

The line segment joining (0, b) and (0, –b) is the minor
axis.

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Ellipses
Equation 3 is unchanged if x is replaced by –x or y is
replaced by –y, so the ellipse is symmetric about both axes.

Notice that if the foci coincide, then c = 0, so a = b and the

ellipse becomes a circle with radius r = a = b.

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Ellipses
We summarize this discussion as follows (see also Figure 8).

Figure 8
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Ellipses
If the foci of an ellipse are located on the y-axis at (0, c),
then we can find its equation by interchanging x and y in
(See Figure 9.)

Figure 9
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Ellipses

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Example 2
Sketch the graph of 9x2 + 16y2 = 144 and locate the foci.

Solution:
Divide both sides of the equation by 144:

The equation is now in the standard form for an ellipse,

so we have a2 = 16, b2 = 9, a = 4, and b = 3.

The x-intercepts are 4 and the y-intercepts are 3.

27
Example 2 – Solution cont’d

Also, c2 = a2 – b2 = 7, so c = and the foci are ( , 0).

The graph is sketched in Figure 10.

9x2 + 16y2 = 144

Figure 10

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Hyperbolas

29
Hyperbolas
A hyperbola is the set of all points in a plane the difference
of whose distances from two fixed points F1 and F2
(the foci) is a constant. This definition is illustrated in
Figure 11.

P is on the hyperbola when

| PF1 | – | PF2 | = 2a.
Figure 11
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Hyperbolas
Notice that the definition of a hyperbola is similar to that of
an ellipse; the only change is that the sum of distances has
become a difference of distances.

In fact, the derivation of the equation of a hyperbola is also

similar to the one given earlier for an ellipse.

When the foci are on the x-axis at (c, 0) and the

difference of distances is | PF1 | – | PF2 | = 2a, then the
equation of the hyperbola is

where c2 = a2 + b2. 31
Hyperbolas
Notice that the x-intercepts are again a and the points
(a, 0) and (–a, 0) are the vertices of the hyperbola.
But if we put x = 0 in Equation 6 we get y2 = –b2, which is
impossible, so there is no y-intercept. The hyperbola is
symmetric with respect to both axes.

To analyze the hyperbola further, we look at Equation 6

and obtain

This shows that x2  a2, so | x | =

32
Hyperbolas
Therefore we have x  a or x  –a. This means that the
hyperbola consists of two parts, called its branches.

When we draw a hyperbola it is useful to first draw its

asymptotes, which are the dashed lines y = (b/a)x and
y = –(b/a)x shown in Figure 12.

Figure 12 33
Hyperbolas
Both branches of the hyperbola approach the asymptotes;
that is, they come arbitrarily close to the asymptotes.

34
Hyperbolas
If the foci of a hyperbola are on the y-axis, then by
reversing the roles of x and y we obtain the following
information, which is illustrated in Figure 13.

Figure 13

35
Example 4
Find the foci and asymptotes of the hyperbola
9x2 – 16y2 = 144 and sketch its graph.

Solution:
If we divide both sides of the equation by 144, it becomes

which is of the form given in with a = 4 and b = 3.

36
Example 4 – Solution cont’d

Since c2 = 16 + 9 = 25, the foci are (5, 0). The

asymptotes are the lines y = and y = – . The graph is
shown in Figure 14.

9x2 – 16y2 = 144

Figure 14

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Shifted Conics

38
Shifted Conics
We shift conics by taking the standard equations

and and replacing x and y by x – h and y – k.

39
Example 6
Find an equation of the ellipse with foci (2, –2), (4, –2) and
vertices (1, –2), (5, –2).

Solution:
The major axis is the line segment that joins the vertices
(1, –2), (5, –2) and has length 4, so a = 2. The distance
between the foci is 2, so c = 1. Thus b2 = a2 – c2 = 3.
Since the center of the ellipse is (3, –2), we replace x and
y in by x – 3 and y + 2 to obtain

as the equation of the ellipse. 40

Example 7
Sketch the conic 9x2 – 4y2 – 72x + 8y + 176 = 0 and find its
foci.

Solution:
We complete the squares as follows:

4(y2 – 2y) – 9(x2 – 8x) = 176

4(y2 – 2y + 1) – 9(x2 – 8x + 16) = 176 + 4 – 144

4(y – 1)2 – 9(x – 4)2 = 36

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Example 7 – Solution cont’d

This is in the form except that x and y are replaced by

x – 4 and y – 1. Thus a2 = 9, b2 = 4, and c2 = 13.

The hyperbola is shifted four units to the right and one

unit upward.

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Example 7 – Solution cont’d

The foci are (4, 1 + ) and (4, 1 – ) and the vertices

are (4, 4) and (4, –2). The asymptotes are
y–1= The hyperbola is sketched in Figure 15.

9x2 – 4y2 – 72x + 8y + 176 = 0

Figure 15
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