Worksheet

Ellipse
Introduction
Passing a plane through a conic section at a certain angle forms ellipses.

Lets explore the properties of ellipses. Use your web browser to go to the
Ellipse activity:
http://www.explorelearning.com/index.cfm?method=cResource.dspView&Resour
ceID=65
Below are several questions designed to get you thinking about the activity.
Answer them on a separate sheet of paper.

The ellipse activity

Note: In most textbooks a is always associated with the major axis. Due to

programming constraints this activity places a in the denominator of the x

variable in all cases. Please keep this discrepancy in mind when completing this
worksheet.

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Elements of an ellipse

Look at the graph.

You should notice several features on the graph. The green curve is the graph of
the ellipse. The green points are called the vertices of the ellipse. The orange
point is the center, and the red points are the foci. You will learn about these
features in the following exercises.
Now select the show string property box.

Point the mouse at the ellipse, and then slide the blue point along the ellipse.
Question 1a. What do you notice about the lengths of L1 and L2?
Now have students Increase the value of a and repeat the process.
Question 1b. What conjectures can you make relating L1 and L2 to the ellipse?

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The major and minor axes

Grab the a slide bar and move it to the left and right.
Question 2a. How does the value of a compare to the distance from the vertices
on the horizontal axis to the center.
Question 2b. What is the length of the horizontal axis in terms of a?

Grab the b slide bar and move it to the left and right.
Question 2c. How does the value of b compare to the distance from the vertices
on the vertical axis to the center?
Question 2d. What is the length of the vertical axis in terms of b?

Type in a 8 to the right of the a slide bar and a 6 to the right of the b slide bar.

Question 2e. Is the major axis vertical or horizontal?

Now type in a 8 for b and a 6 for a.

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Question 2f. Is the major axis vertical or horizontal?

Question 2f. What conjectures can you make relating the values of a and b to
the direction of the major axis?
Question 2f. What are the general coordinates for the vertices on the major axis
when the major axis is vertical?
Question 2f. What are the general coordinates for the vertices on the major axis
when the major axis is horizontal?

The foci
Type in a 5 for a, and a 3 for b. Select the show Pythagorean relationship box.

Question 3a. What points are c units away from the center along the major axis?

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Question 3b. What are the general coordinates for the foci when the major axis
is vertical? Horizontal?
Question 3c. What equation can you use to solve for c?
Remember the Pythagorean relationship on the graph.

Determining equations

Question 4a. What is the equation of the ellipse with a center at (2, -3) and foci at
(2, -7) and (2, 4) and a minor axis that has a length of 6 units?

Question 4b. What is the equation of the ellipse with foci at (0, 2) and (24, 2) and
major vertices at (27, 2) and (-3, 2)?
The reflective property

Graph (x + 1)2/6 + (y 2)2/2 = 1.

Question 5a. What do you think would happen if a ball located at one focus were
fired at the ellipse? Hint: Look at the string property.

Application problem

Whispering galleries are ellipsoid shaped rooms where a person standing at on

focus can hear whispers from a person standing at the other focus due to the
reflection on the sound waves. Look at the diagram below.

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15 feet
78 feet
Question 6a. Where should two people stand, one on each side of the gallery, in
order to hear each others whispers?

Conclusion
Ellipses are conic sections formed by passing a plane through a cone at a certain
angle. Ellipses have general equations in the form (x-h)2/a2 + (y-k)2/b2 = 1. The
center of an ellipse is located at (h, k). The foci of are located c units away from
the center along the major axis, and the vertices are located a units away from
the center along the major axis. The Pythagorean relationship c2 = a2 - b2 occurs
in an ellipse.

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