Final answer:
The figure with the given points is an ellipse, which is a closed curve defined by the constant sum of the distances from any point on the curve to two foci.
Step-by-step explanation:
The description of the geometric figure with a center at (0, 0), a vertex at (0, -13), and one focus at (0, 290) indicates this figure is an ellipse. An ellipse is a closed curve in which the sum of the distances from any point on the curve to the two foci is a constant.
This definition can be visualized with a practical activity: by placing a pin at each focus, looping a string around a pencil and the pins, and tracing a line on paper while keeping the string taut, an ellipse is drawn. If the two foci coincide, creating a scenario where the distance from the center to any point on the curve is the same, the special case of an ellipse is a circle. Given that the foci are not coincident in this case (since one is at the center and the other is not), the figure in question is not a circle but an ellipse.