Conic Sections explanations, examples, practice problems. Ready? Let's do this.
Parabolas
Last Saturday we were sitting around the house, bored and watching TV. We were flipping channels when we found something interesting on, or at least wasn't trying to sell us something. It was a pro...
Ellipses
You spin us right round, baby, right round, but not quite like a record, baby. Think flatter. Squatter. More squashed. That's because we're dealing with ellipses.Unlike a parabola, ellipses are clo...
Hyperbolas
Do not adjust your TV set. Those are not a pair of parabolas frolicking in that cone. No, they are actually a single conic section, and our last one, the hyperbola.We wouldn't blame you for mistaki...
General Conic Equation and Eccentricity
If we put a Chihuahua and a Great Dane side by side, they obviously look a little different. At the same time, we have no problem calling them both dogs. It's the same thing with the conic sections...
In the Real World
Conics sections aren't just numbers and letters on a page, some abstracted ideal Platonic form that sits around doing nothing all day. Each of the conic sections has useful applications in the Real...