Applications of Hyperbolas in

Real-life Situations
Have you every
wondered how we
were able to track the
locations of ships and
aircrafts before we
had navigation
satellites (e.g. Global
Positioning System or
GPS)?
2
Navigation systems
such as the LORAN
(long-range
navigation) use radio
signals to determine
the exact location of a
ship or aircraft.
3
Knowledge of hyperbolas is used in this type of navigation
system.

4
What are some real-life
applications of hyperbolas?

5
 Hyperbolas

A hyperbola is defined as a set of points on a plane

whose absolute difference between the distances from
the foci, and , is constant.

6
 Parts and Properties of Hyperbolas

Given arbitrary points and on the hyperbola,

.

What is the distance ?

7
Parts and Properties of Hyperbolas

2 2 2
𝒄 =𝒂 +𝒃

8
How do you determine the value
of given the values of and ?
How do you determine the value
of given the values of and ?

9
Standard Equations of a Hyperbola

Orientation of
Equation
Principal Axis

Horizontal

Vertical

10
 Applications of Hyperbolas

Hyperbolic
Navigation

Example: LORAN-C
(long-range navigation)

11
 Applications of Hyperbolas

Hyperbolic
Navigation

Two stations, and ,

transmit radio signals.
The radio signals reach
the ship at different
times.

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 Applications of Hyperbolas

Hyperbolic
Navigation

The location of the

ship is somewhere on
a hyperbola.

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 Applications of Hyperbolas

Hyperbolic
Navigation

The difference
between the distances
of the two stations
from the ship at point
is .

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 Applications of Hyperbolas

Cooling Towers

Cooling towers use

water from rivers and
lakes to cool nuclear
power plants.

15
 Applications of Hyperbolas

Cooling Towers

They protect aquatic

life by ensuring that
the water is returned
to the environment at
normal temperatures.

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 Applications of Hyperbolas

Cooling Towers

Cooling towers are

hyperboloid in shape.
Why?

17
 Applications of Hyperbolas

Cooling Towers

 able to withstand
strong winds
 efficient in cooling
 economical

18
Point is on a hyperbola. The distance of from the
first focus is 6 units more than its distance from the
second focus. What is the distance of the center to a
vertex of the hyperbola?

19
Point is on a hyperbola. The distance of from the
first focus is 6 units more than its distance from the
second focus. What is the distance of the center to a
vertex of the hyperbola?

3 units

20
Point is on a hyperbola. The difference
between the distances of from the
first focus and the second focus is 20
units. What is the distance of the
center to a vertex of the hyperbola?

21
What is the equation of a hyperbola whose center is
at the origin, has a horizontal principal axis, the
value of is , and the point is on the hyperbola?

22
What is the equation of a hyperbola whose center is
at the origin, has a horizontal principal axis, the
value of is , and the point is on the hyperbola?

𝟐 𝟐
𝒙 𝒚
− =𝟏
𝟏𝟔 𝟒𝟖 . 𝟐𝟓
23
What is the equation of a hyperbola
whose center is at the origin, has a
vertical principal axis, the value of
is , and the point is on the
hyperbola?

24
Point is on a hyperbola with a vertical principal axis
and whose center is at the origin. The distance of
from the first focus is 12 units more than its distance
from the second focus . The distance between the
two foci is 20 units. What is the equation of the
hyperbola?

25
Point is on a hyperbola with a vertical principal axis
and whose center is at the origin. The distance of
from the first focus is 12 units more than its distance
from the second focus . The distance between the
two foci is 20 units. What is the equation of the
hyperbola?
𝟐 𝟐
𝒚 𝒙
− =𝟏
𝟑𝟔 𝟔𝟒
26
Point is on a hyperbola with a vertical
principal axis and whose center is at
the origin. The distance of from the
first focus is 10 units more than its
distance from the second focus . The
distance between the two foci is 26
units. What is the equation of the
hyperbola?
27
The sides of a cooling tower represent a hyperbola. The
width of the slimmest part of the cooling tower is 50
meters. The length from this point to the top is 64
meters. The diameter of the top of the cooling tower is
60 meters. Find the equation of the hyperbola that
represents the sides of the cooling tower. Set the
middle of the slimmest part as the origin.

28
The sides of a cooling tower represent a hyperbola. The
width of the slimmest part of the cooling tower is 50
meters. The length from this point to the top is 64
meters. The diameter of the top of the cooling tower is
60 meters. Find the equation of the hyperbola that
represents the sides of the cooling tower. Set the
middle of the slimmest part as the origin.

𝒙𝟐 𝒚𝟐
− =𝟏
𝟔𝟐𝟓 𝟗𝟑𝟎𝟗 . 𝟎𝟗
29
The sides of a cooling tower represent a
hyperbola. The width of the slimmest part
of the cooling tower is 54 meters. The
length from this point to the top is 70
meters. The diameter of the top of the
cooling tower is 68 meters. Find the
equation of the hyperbola that represents
the sides of the cooling tower. Set the
middle of the slimmest part as the origin.
30
Two stations and are along a straight coast such that
station is 100 miles west of station . They both
transmit radio signals at the speed of 186 000 miles per
second. A ship sailing at sea is 50 miles from the coast.
The radio signal from station arrives at the ship 0.0002
of a second earlier than the radio signal sent from
station . Where is the ship? Set the midpoint of and as
the origin.

31
Two stations and are along a straight coast such that
station is 100 miles west of station . They both
transmit radio signals at the speed of 186 000 miles per
second. A ship sailing at sea is 50 miles from the coast.
The radio signal from station arrives at the ship 0.0002
of a second earlier than the radio signal sent from
station . Where is the ship? Set the midpoint of and as
the origin.

(𝟐𝟕 . 𝟑𝟒 , 𝟓𝟎 )
32
Two stations and transmit radio signals such
that station A is 200 miles west of station . Both
stations sent radio signals with a speed of
miles per microsecond to a plane traveling
west. The signal from station reaches a plane
500 microseconds faster than the signal from
station . If the plane is 80 miles north of the line
from stations to , what is the location of the
plane? Set the midpoint of and as the origin.

33
Let be a point on a hyperbola with center at the origin
and foci and . Answer the following questions. Round
off your answer to two decimal places.

1. If , what is ?
2. If and , what is ?
3. If and , what is ?
4. If and , what is ?
5. If and , what is ?
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Solve the following problems.

1. A nuclear power plant has a cooling tower whose sides

are in the shape of a hyperbola. The slimmest part of
the tower is 58 meters. The length from this point to
the top is 80 meters. The radius of the top of the
cooling tower is 72 meters. What is the equation of the
hyperbola that represents the sides of the cooling
tower? Set the middle of the slimmest part as the
origin. 35
Solve the following problems.

2. The sides of a cooling tower represent a hyperbola. The

width of the slimmest part of the cooling tower is 80
meters. The slimmest part of the tower is 90 meters
from the ground. The diameter of the base of the tower
is 130 meters. What is the equation of the hyperbola
that represents the sides of the cooling tower? Set the
middle of the slimmest part as the origin.
36
Solve the following problems.

3. Two radio signaling stations and are 120 kilometers

apart. The radio signal from the two stations has a
speed of 300 000 kilometers per second. A ship at sea
receives the signals such that the signal from station
arrives 0.0002 seconds before the signal from station .
What is the equation of the hyperbola where the ship is
located? Set the midpoint of and as the origin.
37
● A hyperbola is a set of points on a plane whose
absolute difference between the distances from two
fixed points and is constant.

● Given any point on a hyperbola with foci and , .

38
● The distance from the center to a vertex of the
hyperbola is , the distance from the center to an
endpoint of the conjugate axis is , and the focal distance
is .

● The relationship between the three distances is

.

39
● The standard forms of equation of a hyperbola whose
center is at the origin are if the principal axis is
horizontal, and if the principal axis is vertical.

40
● In the real world, hyperbolas are used for navigation
and the structure of cooling towers.

41
● To solve word problems on hyperbolas, follow these
steps:
1. Determine the standard form of equation of the
hyperbola.
2. Draw an illustration to be able to visualize the
problem.
3. Solve for the unknown equation or values.

42
 Concept Formula Description

Relationship between Use this formula to find

the values , , and an unknown distance
where is the distance (e.g., focal distance)
from the center to a when the other values
vertex, is the distance are known.
from the center to an
endpoint of the
conjugate axis, and is
the focal distance.
43
 Concept Formula Description

Equation of a Use this formula to find

Hyperbola in Standard where the equation of a
Form  is the center; hyperbola given its
 is the distance from center, , and if the
the center to a transverse axis is
vertex, and horizontal.
 is the distance from
the center to an
endpoint of the
conjugate axis. 44
 Concept Formula Description

Equation of a Use this formula to find

Hyperbola in Standard where the equation of a
Form  is the center; hyperbola given its
 is the distance from center, , and if the
the center to a transverse axis is
vertex, and vertical.
 is the distance from
the center to an
endpoint of the
conjugate axis. 45