Question

"Write the equation for the conic section if the cone is centered at (0,0), the major axis is 10 units, and the minor axis is 6 units. (There is more than one correct answer.)"

Teach said because it didn't want one over the other that we could pick one. I picked the horizontal form.

(x^2/a^2)+(y^2/b^2)=1

I stuck the major in for a and the minor for b, so what do I do next?

Answer 1

This conic section is an ellipse.
Here: 2a = 10 ( the major axis ) and 2 b = 6 ( the minor axis );
and the formula is:
x² / a² + y² / b² = 1
So: a = 10 : 2 = 5 and b = 6 : 2 = 3.
x² / 5² + y² / 3² = 1
Answer:
The equation is: x² / 25 + y² / 9 = 1.