PRECALCULUS

Name of Learner: ____________________________________ Grade Level: ______________

Section: ___________________________________________ Date: ____________________

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

Illustrating the Different Types of Conic Sections and Degenerated Cases;
Defining a Circle; and
Determining the Standard Form of Equation of a Circle.

Background Information for Learners

Introduction

We present the conic sections, a particular class of curves which sometimes appear in nature
and which have applications in other fields. In this lesson, we first illustrate how each of these curves
is obtained from the intersection of a plane and a cone, and then discuss the first of their kind,
circles. The other conic sections will be covered in the next lessons.

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 hyperbola)

We can draw these conic sections (also called conics) on a rectangular coordinate 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.

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). As we get to know more about a circle, we will also be able to distinguish more
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 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.

Let C be a given point. The set of all points P having the same distance from
C is called a circle. The point C is called the center of the circle, and the
common distance its radius.

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 P C = r. For any such point then, its coordinates should satisfy the
following.

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 x 2+ y 2=r 2 .
Examples:

In each item, give the standard equation of the circle satisfying the given conditions.

1. center at the origin, radius 4

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 yaxis Figure 1.9
7. center (5, −6), tangent to the x-axis
8. It has a diameter with endpoints A(−1, 4) and B(4, 2).

Solution:

1. x 2+ y 2=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.
4=2 3
8. The center C is the midpoint of A and B: C = ( −1+4
2
,
2 ) (2 )
= ,3 . The radius is then r =

3 2 29 . The circle has equation ( x−3)2 +( y −3)2= 29

AC =
√( 2 )
1− + ( 4−3 )2=
4√ 4

Learning Competency with code

1. illustrate the different types of conic sections and degenerated cases

(STEM_PC11AG-Ia-1);
2. define a circle (STEM_PC11AG-Ia-2) and
3. determine the standard form of equation of a circle (STEM_PC11AG-Ia-3).
 Activities

Activity 1
Conic Sections and Degenerated Cases
There are many occurences of conic shapes and degenerated cases in nature and life. Identity
the conic section or degenerated cases formed by the given items. Use a sheet of paper to write
your answers.
1. Throwing a ball into the air until it 2. Making the Roller Coaster
reaches the ground
3. Orbits of the planet around the sun 4. Ferris Wheels
5. Shock waves created by an airplane 6. Paul’s Cathedral
7. Lasers or Search lights 8. Guitar
9. Given a piece of string, what shape 10. Gear Transmission
encloses the most area?

Activity 2
Determining the Standard Form of Equation of a Circle
Determine the standard form of equation of the circle given its center and radius.

1. C(0,0); radius:5 2. C(-2,7); radius:4

3. C(-8,-5); radius 3 4. C(√ 5 ,2 √ 2 ¿; radius:√ 10
Activity 3
Take the Challenge!

Use the information provided to write the standard form equation of each circle.
1. C(-2,9); Point on the Circle:(-5,18)
2. C(13,7); Tangent to y=11

SCORING RUBRIC:
[For Activity 2 and Activity 3]

5 pts. – complete and correct solution and correct answer.

4 pts. – incomplete solution but correct solution and answer.
3 pts. – incomplete solution, correct solution but wrong answer.
2 pts. – incomplete solution, some parts of the solution is wrong, incorrect answer.
1 pt. – attempted to answer.
 Guide Questions

1. Describe each of the conic sections and degenerated cases.

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2. What is the standard form of an equation of a circle?
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Reflection

1. I learned from this lesson that

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2. The part of the lesson which I find easy is

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3. The part of the lesson which I find most difficult is

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 References

Commission on Higher Education. (2016). Learners’ Material For Senior High School: Precalculus.
Quezon City.
Conic Sections. kutasoftware.com. Retrieved last April 1, 2021
Introduction to Conic Sections. onemathematicalcat,org. Retrieve last April 1, 2021
Orines, Fernando B.Phoenix Publishing House, Inc. (2016). Next Century Mathematics. Precalculus.
Grade 11. Senior High School,

Prepared by:

MA. CRISTINA C. JAVIER-BARBACENA

Master Teacher 1 - MORMS