Lesson 3.

Definition and Equation

of an Ellipse

Precalculus / Basic Calculus

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Have you ever
wondered how the
planets in the solar
system move? One
fact about these
planets is that they
move along their
orbits, which are in
elliptical form.
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 Learning Competency
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

Illustrate the different types of conic sections:

parabola, ellipse, circle, hyperbola, and
degenerate cases (STEM_PC11AG-ia-1).

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 Learning Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to do the following:

● Define an ellipse. 

● Name the parts and properties of an ellipse. 

● Write the equation of an ellipse. 

● Transform the standard form of equation of an

ellipse into its general form and vice versa. 
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Ellipse

A slant plane intersecting a cone of a

double-napped cone 5
 Ellipse

An ellipse is a set of
points in a plane whose
sum of distances from
two fixed points and is
constant.

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 Ellipse

In the given ellipse on the right,

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 Ellipse

Each of the two fixed

points and is a focus
of the ellipse.

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 Ellipse

The line passing

through the foci (plural
of focus) of an ellipse is
called the principal
axis.

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 Ellipse

The two points on the

ellipse that lie on the
principal axis are the
vertices.

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 Ellipse

The midpoint of the two

vertices is the center of
the ellipse.

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 Ellipse

The line segment

joining the vertices is
called the major axis.

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 Ellipse

The line segment that

passes through the
center and is
perpendicular to the
major axis whose
endpoints are on the
ellipse is called the
minor axis.
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 Ellipse

The distance from the

center to a focus is
called the focal
distance.

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 Ellipse

We use the following

notations for easier reference:

● is the distance from the

center to a vertex,
● is the distance from the
center to a co-vertex, and
● is the focal distance

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 Ellipse

By the definition of an ellipse

and the Pythagorean
Theorem, we can show that

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 Let’s Practice!

If the focal distance of an ellipse is 6 units and half of

its minor axis is 8 units, what is the distance from the
center of the ellipse to a vertex?

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 Let’s Practice!

If the focal distance of an ellipse is 6 units and half of

its minor axis is 8 units, what is the distance from the
center of the ellipse to a vertex?

10 units

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Try It!

Find the distance from the center of an

ellipse to one of its vertices if the focal
distance is units and the distance from
the center to a co-vertex is 12 units.

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 Let’s Practice!

Find the focal distance of an ellipse if the length of

the major axis and minor axis are 58 units and 40
units, respectively.

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 Let’s Practice!

Find the focal distance of an ellipse if the length of

the major axis and minor axis are 58 units and 40
units, respectively.

21 units

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Try It!

Find the focal distance of an ellipse if

the lengths of the major and minor axes
are 30 units and 24 units, respectively.

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 Let’s Practice!

The foci of an ellipse are at . Find the distance from

the center of the ellipse to one of its vertices if is a
point on the graph.

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 Let’s Practice!

The foci of an ellipse are at . Find the distance from

the center of the ellipse to one of its vertices if is a
point on the graph.

units

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Try It!

The foci of an ellipse are at . Find the

distance from the center of the ellipse
to one of its vertices if is a point on the
graph.

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How do you represent an ellipse
using an equation?

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 Equation of an Ellipse in Standard Form

Standard Form of the Equation of an Ellipse With Center at the Origin

Center Major Axis Standard Form

Horizontal
origin

Vertical

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 Equation of an Ellipse in Standard Form

Standard Form of the Equation of an Ellipse With Center at

Center Major Axis Standard Form

Horizontal

Vertical

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the standard form of equation of an ellipse

with center at the origin, major axis on the -axis, ,
and ?

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 Let’s Practice!

What is the standard form of equation of an ellipse

with center at the origin, major axis on the -axis, ,
and ?

𝒙𝟐 𝒚 𝟐
+ =𝟏
𝟑𝟔 𝟏𝟔
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Try It!

Find the standard form of equation of

an ellipse with center at the origin,
major axis on the -axis, , and .

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 Let’s Practice!

Determine the standard form of equation of an

ellipse whose center is at , major axis is vertical, , and
.

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 Let’s Practice!

Determine the standard form of equation of an

ellipse whose center is at , major axis is vertical, , and
.

𝟐 𝟐
( 𝒙 − 𝟑) ( 𝒚 −𝟒 )
+ =𝟏
𝟐𝟓 𝟏𝟔𝟗
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Try It!

Determine the standard form of

equation of an ellipse whose center is at
, major axis is horizontal, , and .

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 Let’s Practice!

Determine the standard form of equation of an

ellipse with vertices at and and co-vertices at and .

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 Let’s Practice!

Determine the standard form of equation of an

ellipse with vertices at and and co-vertices at and .

𝟐 𝟐
( 𝒙 − 𝟐) ( 𝒚 −𝟒 )
+ =𝟏
𝟒 𝟏𝟔
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Try It!

Determine the standard form of equation

of an ellipse with vertices at and and co-
vertices at and .

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How can we transform the
standard form of equation of an
ellipse into its general form?

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Equation of an Ellipse in General Form

where and are not equal to 0, and

 Let’s Practice!

Given an ellipse, transform the standard form of its

equation into its general form.

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 Let’s Practice!

Given an ellipse, transform the standard form of its

equation into its general form.

𝟐 𝟐
𝟐𝟓 𝒙 +𝟑𝟔 𝒚 − 𝟗𝟎𝟎=𝟎
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Try It!

Given an ellipse, transform the standard

form of its equation into its general
form.

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 Let’s Practice!

Determine the general form of equation of an ellipse

whose standard form is

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 Let’s Practice!

Determine the general form of equation of an ellipse

whose standard form is

𝟐 𝟐
𝟒 𝒙 +𝟗 𝒚 − 𝟏𝟔 𝒙+𝟓𝟒 𝒚 +𝟔𝟏=𝟎
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Try It!

Determine the general form of equation

of an ellipse whose standard form is

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 Let’s Practice!

A racetrack is in the form of an ellipse 100 feet long

and 60 feet wide. What is the equation, in general
form, representing the given ellipse if the center is at
and the major axis is horizontal?

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 Let’s Practice!

A racetrack is in the form of an ellipse 100 feet long

and 60 feet wide. What is the equation, in general
form, representing the given ellipse if the center is at
and the major axis is horizontal?

𝟐 𝟐
𝟗 𝒙 +𝟐𝟓 𝒚 − 𝟐𝟐 𝟓𝟎𝟎=𝟎
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Try It!

Determine the equation of an elliptical

ground whose length is 26 meters and
whose width is 18 meters if the center is
assumed to be at the origin and the
major axis is horizontal.

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 Check Your Understanding

Write the standard and general forms of equation of

the ellipse satisfying the given conditions.

1. center at the origin, vertices at , and co-vertices at

2. center at the origin, vertices at , and foci
3. center at , vertical major axis of length 20, and minor
axis of length 10

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 Check Your Understanding

Determine the standard form of equation of the

ellipse whose general form is given.

1.
2.
3.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● An ellipse is formed when a slant plane intersects

a cone of a double-napped cone.

● An ellipse is a set of points in a plane whose sum

of distances from two fixed points is constant.

● The two fixed points in the definition of an ellipse

are the foci (singular: focus).
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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The line passing through the foci of an ellipse is

called the principal axis.

● The two points on an ellipse that lie on the

principal axis are the vertices.

● The line segment joining the vertices of an ellipse

is called the major axis.
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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The midpoint of the major axis is the center of

the ellipse.

● The line segment that passes through the center

and is perpendicular to the major axis whose
endpoints are on the ellipse is called the minor
axis.

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 Let’s Sum It Up!

● The endpoints of the minor axis of an ellipse are

called co-vertices.

● The distance from the center to a focus of an

ellipse is called the focal distance.

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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

 
Use this formula to find
where is the distance
an unknown distance
Relationship of the from the center to a
(e.g., focal distance)
values , , and vertex, is the distance
when the other values
from the center to a co-
are known.
vertex, and is the focal
distance.

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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

where
 is the center, Use this formula to find
 is the distance from the equation of an ellipse
Equation of an Ellipse
the center to a given its center, , and if
in Standard Form
vertex, and the major axis is
 is the distance from horizontal.
the center to a co-
vertex.
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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

where
 is the center,
Use this formula to find
 is the distance from
Equation of an Ellipse the equation of an ellipse
in Standard Form the center to a
given its center, , and if
vertex, and
the major axis is vertical.
 is the distance from
the center to a co-
vertex.
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 Key Formulas

Concept Formula Description

This is the form of

Equation of an Ellipse equation of an ellipse
in General Form when the standard form
is expanded.

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Challenge Yourself

In writing the equation of an ellipse

from general to standard form, we
divide both sides of the equation by
the constant on the right-hand side.
What would be the implication on the
ellipse if the constant is zero?

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Bibliography

Barnett, Raymond, Michael Ziegler, Karl Byleen, and David Sobecki. College Algebra with Trigonometry.
Boston: McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008.

Bittinger, Marvin L., Judith A. Beecher, David J. Ellenbogen, and Judith A. Penna. Algebra and
Trigonometry: Graphs and Models. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson/Addison Wesley, 2009.

Blitzer, Robert. Algebra and Trigonometry. 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice
Hal, 2007.

Larson, Ron. College Algebra with Applications for Business and the Life Sciences. Boston: MA: Houghton
Mifflin, 2009.

Simmons, George F. Calculus with Analytic Geometry. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

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