1.1.1.

An Overview of Conic Sections

We introduce the conic sections (or conics), a particular class of curves which
oftentimes appear in nature and which have applications in other fields. One
of the first shapes we learned, a circle, is a conic. When you throw a ball, the
trajectory it takes is a parabola. The orbit taken by each planet around the sun
is an ellipse. Properties of hyperbolas have been used in the design of certain
telescopes and navigation systems. We will discuss circles in this lesson, leaving
parabolas, ellipses, and hyperbolas for subsequent lessons.
• Circle (Figure 1.1) - when the plane is horizontal
• Ellipse (Figure 1.1) - when the (tilted) plane intersects only one cone to
form a bounded curve
• Parabola (Figure 1.2) - when the plane intersects only one cone to form an
unbounded curve
• Hyperbola (Figure 1.3) - when the plane (not necessarily vertical) intersects
both cones to form two unbounded curves (each called a branch of the hyper-
bola)

We can draw these conic sections (also called conics) on a rectangular co-
ordinate plane and find their equations. To be able to do this, we will present
equivalent definitions of these conic sections in subsequent sections, and use
these to find the equations.
There are other ways for a plane and the cones to intersect, to form what
are referred to as degenerate conics: a point, one line, and two lines. See
Figures 1.4,
1.5 and 1.6.

1.1.2. Definition and Equation of a Circle

A circle may also be considered a special kind of ellipse (for the special case
when the tilted plane is horizontal). For our purposes, we will distinguish
between these two conics.
 See Figure 1.7, with the point C(3, 1) shown. From the figure, the distance
of A(—2, 1) from p
C is AC = 5. By the distance formula, the distance of B(6, 5)
from C is BC = (6 — 3)2 + (5 — 1)2 = 5. There are other points P such that
PC = 5. The collection of all such points which are 5 units away from C,
forms a circle.

Figure 1.7 Figure 1.8

The term radius is both used to refer to a segment from the center C to a
point P on the circle, and the length of this segment.
See Figure 1.8, where a circle is drawn. It has center C(h, k) and radius r > 0.
A point P (x, y) is on the circle if and only if PC = r. For any such point then, its
coordinates should satisfy the following.

PC = r
p
(x — h)2 + (y — k)2 = r
(x — h)2 + (y — k)2 = r 2

This is the standard equation of the circle with center C(h, k) and radius r. If
the center is the origin, then h = 0 and k = 0. The standard equation is then
x2 + y 2 = r2.
Example 1.1.1. In each item, give the standard equation of the circle satisfying the
given conditions.
(1) center at the origin, radius 4
p
(2) center (—4, 3), radius 7
(3) circle in Figure 1.7
(4) circle A in Figure 1.9
(5) circle B in Figure 1.9
(6) center (5, —6), tangent to the y-axis
(7) center (5, —6), tangent to the x-axis
(8) has a diameter with endpoints A(—1, 4) and B(4, 2)

Figure 1.9

Solution. (1) x2 + y2 = 16
(2) (x + 4)2 + (y — 3)2 = 7
(3) The center is (3, 1) and the radius is 5, so the equation is (x — 3)2 +(y — 1)2 =
25.
(4) By inspection, the center is (—2, —1) and the radius is 4. The equation is
(x + 2)2 + (y + 1)2 = 16.
(5) Similarly by inspection, we have (x — 3)2 + (y — 2)2 = 9.
(6) The center is 5 units away from the y-axis, so the radius is r = 5 (you can
make a sketch to see why). The equation is (x — 5)2 + (y + 6)2 = 25.
(7) Similarly, since the center is 6 units away from the x-axis, the equation is
(x — 5)2 + (y + 6)2 = 36.
 . Σ . Σ
(8) The center C is the midpoint of A and B: C = —1+4 ,2 4+2 2 = 3 , 32 . The
q. Σ q
3 2
radius is then r = AC = —1 — 2 + (4 — 3)2 = 29
. The circle has
4
. Σ
32 2
equation x — + (y — 3)2 = 294 . 2
Seatwork/Homework 1.1.2
Find the standard equation of the circle being described in each item.
p
(1) With center at the origin, radius 11 Answer: x2 + y2 = 11
(2) With center (—6, 7), tangent to the y-axis Answer: (x + 6)2 + (y — 7)2 = 36
(3) Has a diameter with endpoints A(—3, 2) and B(7, 4)
Answer: (x — 2)2 + (y — 3)2 = 26

1.1.3. More Properties of Circles

✓ equation
After expanding, the standard
x — ◆2
3 + (y 3)2 = 29
—
2 4
can be rewritten
as x2 + y2 — 3x — 6y — 5 = 0,
an equation of the circle in general form.
If the equation of a circle is given in the general form

Ax2 + Ay2 + Cx + Dy + E = 0, A 6= 0,

or
x2 + y2 + Cx + Dy + E = 0,
we can determine the standard form by completing the square in both variables.
Completing the square in an expression like x2 + 14x means determining
the term to be added that will produce a perfect polynomial square. Since the
coefficient of x2 is already 1, we take half the coefficient of x and square it, and
we get 49. Indeed, x2 + 14x + 49 = (x + 7)2 is a perfect square. To complete square.
the square in, say, 3x2 + 18x, we factor the coefficient of x2 from the expression
3(x2 + 6x), then add 9 inside. When completing a square in an equation, any
extra term introduced on one side should also be added to the other side.
Example 1.1.2. Identify the center and radius of the circle with the given equa- tion
in each item. Sketch its graph, and indicate the center.
(1) x2 + y2 — 6x = 7
(2) x2 + y2 — 14x + 2y = —14
(3) 16x2 + 16y2 + 96x — 40y = 315

Solution. The first step is to rewrite each equation in standard form by complet-
ing the square in x and in y. From the standard equation, we can determine the
center and radius.
(1)
x2 — 6x + y2 = 7
x2 — 6x + 9 + y2 = 7 + 9
(x — 3)2 + y2 = 16
Center (3, 0), r = 4, Figure 1.10
(2)
x2 — 14x + y2 + 2y = —14
x2 — 14x + 49+ y2 + 2y +1 = —14 + 49 + 1
(x — 7)2 + (y + 1)2 = 36
Center (7, —1), r = 6, Figure 1.11
(3)
16x2 + 96x + 16y2 — 40y = 315
✓ 5 ◆
16(x2 + 6x)+ 16 y2 y = 315
✓ 2 —◆ ✓ ◆
2 2 5 25 25
16(x + 6x + 9)+ 16 y — y + = 315 + 16(9) + 16
2 16 16
✓ ◆
5 2
16(x + 3)2 + 16 y — = 484
✓ 4
5 ◆ 2 484 ✓ ◆2
y— 121 11
2
(x + 3) + = = =
4 16 4 2
. Σ
Center —3, 45 , r = 5.5, Figure 1.12. 2

Figure 1.10 Figure 1.11 Figure 1.12

 In the standard equation (x h)—2 + (y k) 2 —
= r2, both the two squared terms
on the left side have coefficient 1. This is the reason why in the preceding
example, we divided by 16 at the last equation.

Seatwork/Homework 1.1.3
Identify the center and radius of the circle with the given equation in each item.
Sketch its graph, and indicate the center.
(1) x2 + y2 — 5x + 4y = 46
. Σ
Answer: center 52, —2 , radius 15
2
= 7.5, Figure 1.13
(2) 4x2 + 4y2 + 40x — 32y = 5
Answer: center (—5, 4), radius 13
2
= 6.5, Figure 1.14

Figure 1.13 Figure 1.14

1.1.4. Situational Problems Involving Circles

We now consider some situational problems involving circles.

?Example 1.1.3. A street with two lanes, each 10 ft wide, goes through a
semicircular tunnel with radius 12 ft. How high is the tunnel at the edge of each
lane? Round o↵ to 2 decimal places.
Solution. We draw a coordinate system with origin at the middle of the
highway, as shown. Because of the given radius, the tunnel’s boundary is on
the circle x2 + y2 = 122. Point P is the point on the arc just above the edge of
a lane, so its x-coordinate is 10. Wepneed its y-coordinate. We then solve 102
+ y 2 = 122
for y > 0, giving us y = 2 11 ⇡ 6.63 ft. 2
Example 1.1.4. A piece of a broken plate was dug up in an archaeological site. It
was put on top of a grid, as shown in Figure 1.15, with the arc of the plate
passing through A( —7, 0), B(1, 4) and C(7, 2). Find its center, and the standard
equation of the circle describing the boundary of the plate.

Figure 1.15

Figure 1.16

Solution. We first determine the center. It is the intersection of the perpendicular

 bisectors of AB and BC (see Figure 1.16). Recall that, in a circle, the perpen-
Σ chord passes through the center. Since the midpoint M
dicular bisector of any
.
of AB is —7+1 , 0+4 = (—3, 2), and mAB = 4—0 = 1 , the perpendicular bisector
2 2 1+7 2
of AB has equation y — 2 = —2(x + 3), or equivalently, y = —2x — 4.
. 1+7 4+2 Σ
Since the midpoint N of BC is , = (4, 3), and mBC = 2—4 = —1 ,
the perpendicular bisector of BC 2 2 y — 3 = 3(x — 7—1 3
has 4) , or equivalently,
y = 3x — 9. equation
The intersection of the two lines y = 2x 4 — — 6) (by —solving
and y = 3x 9 is (1,
a system of linear equations). We can take the radius as the distance of this point
from any of A, B or C (it’s most convenient to use B in this case). We then get r
= 10. The standard equation is thus (x — 1)2 + (y + 6)2 = 100. 2

Seatwork/Homework 1.1.4
?1. A single-lane street 10 ft wide goes through a semicircular tunnel with radius
9 ft. How high is the tunnel at the edge of each lane? Round o↵ to 2 decimal
places. Answer: 7.48 ft
2. An archeologist found the remains of an ancient wheel, which she then placed
on a grid. If an arc of the wheel passes through A(—7, 0), B(—3, 4) and C(7, 0),
locate the center of the wheel, and the standard equation of the circle defining
its boundary. Answer: (0, —3), x2 + (y + 3)2 = 58

Exercises 1.1
1. Identify the center and radius of the circle with the given equation in each
item. Sketch its graph, and indicate the center.
(a) x2 + y2 = 49 Answer: center (0, 0), r = 7
2 2
(b) 4x + 4y = 25 Answer: center (0,0), r = 52
. Σ2 . Σ2 . Σ
(c) x — 74 + y + 3 4 = 169
16
Answer: center 74 , —43 , r = 134
(d) x2 + y2 — 12x — 10y = —12 Answer: center (6, 5), r = 7 (e)
2 2
x + y + 8x — 9y = 6 Answer: center (—4, 4.5), r = 13 2
(f) x2 + y2 + 10x + 12y = —12 Answer: center (—5, —6), r = 7
2 2
(g) 2x + 2y — 14x + 18y = 7 Answer: center (3.5, —4.5), r = 6
2 2
(h) 4x + 4y — 20x + 40y = —5 Answer: center (2.5, —5), r = p 30
. Σ p
(i) 9x2 + 9y 2 + 42x + 84y + 65 = 0 Answer: center —.37 , — 14
3 , r = 2 5
Σ p
(j) 2x2 + 2y 2 + 10x = 2y + 7 5 1
Answer: center —2 , 2 , r = 10
(a) (b)

(c) (d)

(e) (f)
 (g) (h)

(i) (j)

2. Find the standard equation of the circle which satisfies the given conditions.
p
(a) center at the origin, radius 2 2 Answer: x2 + y2 = 8
(b) center at (15, —20), radius 9 Answer: (x — 15)2 + (y + 20)2 = 81
(c) center at (5, 6), through (9, 4) Answer: (x — 5)2 + (y — 6)2 = 20

Solution. The radius is the distance from the center to (9, 4):
p p
(5 — 9)2 + (6 — 4)2 = 20.

(d) center at (—2, 3), tangent to the x-axis

Answer: (x + 2)2 + (y — 3)2 = 9
(e) center at (—2, 3), tangent to the y-axis
Answer: (x + 2)2 + (y — 3)2 = 4
 (f) center at (—2, 3), tangent to the line y = 8
Answer: (x + 2)2 + (y — 3)2 = 25

Solution. We need to determine the radius. This is best done by

sketching the center and line, to see that the center (—2, 3) is 5 units
away from the nearest point on the line, (—2, 8) (which is the point of
tangency).
(g) center at (—2, 3), tangent to the line x = —10
Answer: (x + 2)2 + (y — 3)2 = 64
(h) center in the third quadrant, tangent to both the x-axis and y-axis,
radius 7 Answer: (x + 7)2 + (y + 7)2 = 49
(i) a diameter with endpoints (—9, 2) and (15, 12)
Answer: (x — 3)2 + (y — 7)2 = 169
(j) concentric with x2 + y2 + 2x — 4y = 5, radius is 7
Answer: (x + 1)2 + (y — 2)2 = 49

Solution. Two circles are said to be concentric if they have the same
center. The standard equation of the given circle is
(x + 1)2 + (y — 2)2 = 10. Thus, the circle we’re looking for has center
(—1, 2) and radius 7.
(k) concentric with x2 + y2 — 8x — 10y = —16 and 4 times the area
Answer: (x — 4)2 + (y — 5)2 = 100

Solution. The given circle has standard equation

(x — 4)2 + (y — 5)2 = 52.

Its radius is 5, so its area is 25 ⇡ sq. units. The circle we are looking
for should have area 100⇡ sq. units, so its radius is 10.

(l) concentric with x2 + y2 — 10x — 6y = —2, same radius as

x2 + y 2 — 14x + 6y = —33 Answer: (x — 5)2 + (y — 3)2 = 25
(m) center at C(3, 4), tangent to the line y = 1 x3 — 1 3
Answer: (x — 3)2 + (y — 4)2 = 10
Solution. (A sketch will greatly help in understanding the argument.)
If P is the point of tangency, then line CP is perpendicular to the
given tangent line. Since the tangent line has slope 1 , line CP has
3
slope —3. Because it passes through C, line CP has equation y — 4 =
—3(x — 3), or y = —3x + 13. Solving the system {y = 1 x — 1 , y =
3 3
—3x + 13}
yields xp= 4 and y = 1, the coordinates
p of P . The radius is then
CP = (3 — 4) + (4 — 1) = 10.
2 2
 (n) center at (—4, 3), tangent to the line y = —4x — 30
Answer: (x + 4)2 + (y — 3)2 = 17

Solution. (Similar to the previous problem) Let P be the point of

tangency, so line CP is perpendicular to the tangent line. The tangent
1
line has slope —4, so line CP has slope 4
. Line CP passes through
C, so it has equation y — 3 = 1 (x + 4), or y = 1 x + 4. Solving the
system 1 4 4
{y = —4x — 30, y = 4 x + 4} yields
p x = —8 and y = 2, the coordinates
p
of P . The radius is then CP = (—4+ 8) + (3 — 2) = 2 17.
2
?3. A seismological station is located at (0,—3), 3 km away from a straight
shoreline where the x-axis runs through. The epicenter of an earthquake
was determined to be 6 km away from the station.

(a) Find the equation of the curve that contains the possible location of
the epicenter. Answer: x2 + (y + 3)2 = 62
(b) If furthermore, the epicenter was determined to be 2 km away from
the shore, find its possible coordinates (rounded o↵ to two decimal
places). Answer: (±3.32,2)

Solution. Since the epicenter is 6 units away from (0, —3), it could be any
of the points of a circle with center (0, —3) and radius 6. The equation is
then x2 + (y + 3)2 = 62 . Next, we solve thip
s equation for x if y = 2, and we
2 2 2
get x = 6 — (2 + 3) = 11, and so x = ± 11 ⇡ ±3.32.

4. A ferris wheel is elevated 1 m above ground. When a car reaches the

highest point on the ferris wheel, its altitude from ground level is 31 m.
How far away from the center, horizontally, is the car when it is at an
altitude of 25 m? Answer: 12 m
Solution. The ferris wheel, as
shown below, is drawn 1 unit
above the x- axis (ground level),
center on the y- axis, and highest
point at y = 31. The diameter is
thus 30, and the ra- dius 15. We
locate the center at (0, 16), and
write the equation of the circle as
x2 + (y — 16)2 = 152.
If y = 25, we have x2 + (25 — 16)2 =
152, so x2 = 152 — 92 = 144, and
x = ±12. (Clearly, there are two
points on the ferris wheel at an altitude of 25 m.) Thus, the car is 12 m
away horizontally from the center.
 ?5. A window is to be constructed as shown, with its upper boundary
the arc of a circle having radius 4 ft and center at the midpoint of
base AD. If the vertical side is to be 3 as long as the base, find the
4
dimensions (vertical side and base) of this window. Round o↵ your
final answer to 1 decimal place.
Answer: base 4.44 ft, side 3.33 ft

Solution. We put two lines corresponding to the x-axis and y-axis, as

shown, with the origin coinciding with the midpoint of the
window’s base. This origin is the center of the circle containing the
arc. The equation of the circle is then x2 + y 2 = 16. Let n be length
of the base AD, so the side AD has
3 . n 3n Σ . n Σ2 . 3n Σ2
length
4
n. Point B then has coordinates2 4
, . Therefore,
2
+
4
=
16
16. Solving this
3 for n > 0 yields n = p . The base is then n ⇡ 4.44 ft and
the side
4
n ⇡ 3.33 ft. 13