Chapter 12

Lesson Relationships
Vocabulary
between Ellipses
12-5 and Circles
eccentricity of an ellipse

BIG IDEA Ellipses are stretched circles; circles are ellipses

whose major and minor axes have the same length.

In some ellipses, the major axis is much longer than the minor axis. Mental Math
In others, the two axes are almost equal in length. The diagrams
Describe a
below illustrate three of the possible cases. All three ellipses have the transformation or
same focal constant. You can see that when the focal constant stays composite of
the same, the positions of the foci in an ellipse affect its shape. The transformations that
closer the foci are to the origin, the rounder the ellipse appears. will map (x, y) onto
y
the given point.
a. (x + 7, y - 2)
b. (3x, 2.5y)
c. (3x + 7, 2.5y - 2)
(0, 1)
(᎑10, 0) (10, 0) x d. (2.5y - 2, 3x + 7)
(0, ᎑1)
F1 F2

x2 y2 (0, 9)
+ =1
100 1
Major Axis: 20
Minor Axis: 2
(᎑10, 0) x
F2 0 F1 (10, 0)
y

(0, 5) (0, ᎑9)

(᎑10, 0) (10, 0) x
x2 y2
F2 0 F1 + =1
100 81
Major Axis: 20
Minor Axis: 18
(0, ᎑5)

x2 y2
+ =1
100 25
Major Axis: 20
Minor Axis: 10

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 Lesson 12-5

Circles as Special Ellipses

y
A special kind of ellipse results if the major and minor
(0, 10)
axes are equal. At the right is an ellipse with major
axis 20 and minor axis 20. It has equation
y 2
x2
__
100
+ __
100
= 1,
(᎑10, 0) x
which can be rewritten as
0 (10, 0)

x 2 + y 2 = 100.

So this ellipse is a circle.

This can be generalized. Consider the standard form (0, ᎑10)
of an equation for an ellipse,
x2
_ y2
2
+ _2 = 1.
a b
If the major and minor axes each have length 2r, then 2a = 2r and
x 2 y2
2b = 2r, so you may substitute r for both a and b to get _ 2
+ _2 = 1.
r r
Multiply both sides by r2 to get x2 + y2 = r 2.

This is an equation for the circle with center at the origin and
radius r. So, a circle is a special kind of ellipse whose major and
minor axes are equal in length.
QY1 QY1
Find an equation of the
ellipse with center at the
Ellipses as Stretched Circles origin and major and
An ellipse can be thought of as a stretched circle. The transformation minor axes of length 14.
that stretches and shrinks figures is the scale change, which you
studied in Lesson 4 -5.
y
5
x2
Consider the unit circle with equation + = 1 and a scale y2 4
change with horizontal magnitude 4 and vertical magnitude 2. 3
The x- and y-intercepts of the unit circle and their images under 2
1
this scale change are graphed at the right. x
᎑5 ᎑4 ᎑3 ᎑2 ᎑1 1 2 3 4 5
S4, 2 : (1, 0) → (4, 0) ᎑1
᎑2
S4, 2 : (0, 1) → (0, 2) ᎑3
S4, 2 : (–1, 0) → (–4, 0) ᎑4
S4, 2 : (0, –1) → (0, –2) ᎑5

From these four points you can see that the image of the unit circle
under this scale change is not a circle. It appears to be an ellipse with
foci on the x-axis.

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 Chapter 12

GUIDED
Example
Find an equation for the image of the unit circle x2 + y2 = 1 under S4, 2.

Solution To find an equation for the image of the circle, let (x , y )

be the image of point (x, y) on the circle. Then (x , y ) = (4x, 2y).
So, x = 4x and y = ? .
Solve these equations for x and y.
x= ? and y = ?
You know that x2 + y2 = 1. Substitute the expressions for x and y involving
x  and y  into x2 + y2 = 1 to get an equation for the image.
( ? )2 + ( ? )2 = 1.
Now let (x, y) be a point on the image. Rewrite the equation for the image
using x and y in place of x  and y .
( ? )2 + ( ? )2 = 1
The equation you have written is for an ellipse with a minor axis of
length ? and a major axis of length ? .

Check Substitute some points known to be on the image into the

equation. Do their coordinates satisfy your equation for the ellipse?
Try (4, 0): _
42
+_
02 = ? + ? = ? .
? ?
(–2)2
Try (0, –2): _
02
+_= ? + ? = ? . It checks.
? ?

The procedure you followed in the Example can be repeated using a

in place of 4 and b in place of 2. This shows that any ellipse in standard
form can be thought of as a scale-change image of the unit circle.

Circle Scale-Change Theorem

The image of the unit circle with equation x2 + y2 = 1 under Sa,b
is the ellipse with equation ( _ax ) + _
b
= 1.
2
( y )2
The previous theorem is a special case of a more general Graph
Scale-Change Theorem, which is analogous to the Graph-Translation
Theorem you studied in Chapter 6.

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 Lesson 12-5

Graph Scale-Change Theorem

In a relation described by a sentence in x and y, the
following two processes yield the same graph:
y
1. replacing x by _ax and y by _
b
;
2. applying the scale change Sa, b to the graph of the
original relation.

QY2 QY2
Find an equation for the
image of x2 + y2 = 1
A Formula for the Area of an Ellipse under S6, 14.
Consider the figure below at the left. If each grid square has area 1,
the area of the figure is equal to the number of grid squares inside
the figure. Now suppose the scale change S a, b is applied to the figure
and the grid. The result is the figure at the right below. Each grid
square is transformed into a rectangle with length a, width b, and
area ab. Since the area of each rectangle is ab times the area of one
grid square, the area of the transformed figure is ab times the area
of its preimage.

a
1 b
1

preimage image under Sa, b

y
This illustrates that in general, the area
y
of the image of a figure under the scale
(0, b)
change S a, b is ab times the area of the (0, 1)
preimage. This fact can be used to x x
derive a formula for the area of an (1, 0) (a, 0)
ellipse. The area of the unit circle
is π(1)2 = π, and the ellipse with
y 2
x2
equation _2
+ _2 = 1 is the image of area: πab square units
a b
the unit circle under S a, b. So, the area area: π square units
of this ellipse is π(ab) = πab.

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 Chapter 12

Area of an Ellipse Theorem QY3

The Statuary Hall gallery
An ellipse with semimajor and semiminor axes of lengths a and b
in the United States
has area A = πab.
Capitol is an elliptical
chamber. The gallery is
QY3
about 83 feet wide and
about 96 feet long. Find
its floor area.
Questions
COVERING THE IDEAS
1. Fill in the Blank A circle is an ellipse in which the major and
minor axes
A are parallel. B are perpendicular
C are of equal length. D coincide.
True or False In 2 and 3, indicate whether the statement is true or
false. If false, draw a counterexample.
2. All ellipses are circles. 3. All circles are ellipses.
4. Fill in the Blank All three ellipses below are the same width. In
which ellipse are the foci farthest apart? Explain your answer.
A B C

In 5 and 6, consider the circle x2 + y 2 = 1 and the scale change S _1 .

5, 2
5. a. Find the image of (1, 0) under S _1 .
5, 2
b. Find the image of (0, 1) under S .
5, _12
c. Write an equation of the image of the circle under S .
5, _12

6. What is the area of the image?

y
7. Consider the ellipse drawn at the right.
(0, 8)
a. What scale change maps the unit circle onto this ellipse?
b. Write an equation for the ellipse.
c. Find its area. (᎑4, 0) (4, 0) x
0

(0, ᎑8)

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 Lesson 12-5

APPLYING THE MATHEMATICS

8. a. Write an equation for an ellipse in which the semimajor
and semiminor axes each have length 5 and the distance
between the foci is 0.
b. What relationship between ellipses and circles does
this illustrate?
9. a. Give an example of a scale change S h, k such that the unit
circle and its image under the scale change are similar.
b. Give an example of a scale change S h, k such that the unit
circle and its image under the scale change are not similar.
10. Use the method of the Example to prove that the image of the
y2
x2
unit circle under the scale change S a, b is the ellipse _2
+ _2 = 1.
a b
11. The orbit of the planet Mars is in the shape of an ellipse whose
minor axis is 282.0 million miles long and whose major axis is
283.3 million miles long. What is the area of this ellipse?
In 12–14, use this definition: The eccentricity of an ellipse is the ratio
of the distance 2c between its foci to the length 2a of its major axis.
12. a. Write a formula for the eccentricity e of an ellipse.
b. What is the eccentricity of the ellipse in the Example?
13. An ellipse’s major axis is 12 units long. If its eccentricity is _13 ,
how long is its minor axis?
14. a. What is the eccentricity of a circle?
b. Is there a maximum possible value for the eccentricity of an
ellipse? Why or why not?
15. Write the equations of four different ellipses with area 24π.

REVIEW
16. In 1937, a Whispering Gallery was constructed in the
Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. The
Gallery was constructed in the form of an ellipsoid (an
ellipse rotated around its major axis). When a visitor
located at one focus whispers, the sound reflects
directly to the focus at the other end of the gallery. The
width of an ellipse in the plane of the foci is 13 feet 6
inches, and the length of the ellipse is 47 feet 4 inches.
a. Find an equation that could describe this ellipse.
b. How far are the foci from the endpoints of the major
axis of this ellipse? (Lesson 12-4)

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 Chapter 12

Matching In 17–21, match each equation with the best description.

A letter may be used more than once. Do not graph. (Lessons 12-4,
12-3, 12-2)
17. (x - 2)2 + y 2 < 36 i circle
x2 y2
18. _
48
+ _
64
>1 ii ellipse
19. x2 + 9y 2 = 121 iii interior of a circle
x2 y2
20. _
16
+ _
81
=4 iv interior of an ellipse
21. x2 + y2 = 25 v exterior of a circle
vi exterior of an ellipse
22. At the right is a top view of a circular fountain surrounded
by a circular flower garden. The distance from the center
of the fountain to the outside edge of the garden is 65 feet.
65 ft
It is 45 feet from the outside edge of the garden to the
fountain. If the center of the fountain is the origin, write a 45 ft

system of inequalities to describe the set of points in the

flower garden. (Lesson 12-3)
In 23 and 24, solve. (Lesson 6-2)
23. |2n + 1| = 0.5 24. √
x 2 = √
40
3
In 25 and 26, consider the line  with equation y = – _7
x + 6 and
the point P = (5, 2). Find an equation for the line through P
25. parallel to . (Lesson 4-10)
26. perpendicular to . (Lesson 4-9)

EXPLORATION
27. a. Cut out a paper circle and make a dot anywhere in its interior.
Fold a point on the circle onto the dot then unfold. Repeat
P
with other points on the circle. What shape is outlined by the
crease lines (shown as segments in the diagram)?
b. Use a new circle. Place the dot at the
center of the circle and repeat the
activity in Part a.
c. Explain your results in Parts a and b. O

QY ANSWERS
y 2
x2
1. _ _
49 + 49 = 1 or
x 2 + y 2 = 49
y 2
x2
2. _ __
36 + 196 = 1
3. 1992π ≈ 6258 ft2

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