Conic sections mathcentre.ac.uk（圆锥部分mathcentre.ac.uk）.pdf

Conic sections mc-TY-conics-2009-1 In this unit we study the conic sections. These are the curves obtained when a cone is cut by a plane. We find the equations of one of these curves, the parabola, by using an alternative description in terms of points whose distances from a fixed point and a fixed line are equal. We also find the equation of a tangent to a parabola using techniques from calculus, and we use this to prove the reflective property of the parabola. In order to master the techniques explained here it is vital that you undertake plenty of practice exercises so that they become second nature. After reading this text, and/or viewing the video tutorial on this topic, you should be able to: • decide, when given the eccentricity of a conic, whether the conic is an ellipse, a parabola or a hyperbola; • write down the equation of a parabola passing through the origin with its focus on the positive x-axis; Contents 1. Introduction 2 2. The sections of a cone 2 3. Eccentricity 4 4. The parabola 4 5. The reflective property of the parabola 9 c www.mathcentre.ac.uk 1 mathcentre 2009 1. Introduction The conic sections, or conics, are curves obtained by making sections, or cuts, at particular angles through a cone. These curves were