Answer:
To find the equation of the ellipse, we need to use the standard form of the equation for an ellipse centered at the origin:
((x-h)^2)/a^2 + ((y-k)^2)/b^2 = 1
where (h, k) is the center of the ellipse, a is the distance from the center to the end of the major axis, and b is the distance from the center to the end of the minor axis.
Step 1: Find the center of the ellipse
The center of the ellipse is halfway between the two foci:
center = ((2+2)/2, (4-8)/2) = (2,-2)
Step 2: Find the length of the major axis
The distance between the two foci is 12 units (the absolute value of the difference in the y-coordinates):
c = 12
The length of the minor axis is the distance between the two co-vertices, which is 16 units:
2b = 16
b = 8
To find the length of the major axis, we use the relationship between a, b, and c in an ellipse:
c^2 = a^2 - b^2
a^2 = b^2 + c^2
a^2 = 8^2 + 12^2
a^2 = 256
a = 16
Step 3: Plug in the values to the standard form of the equation
((x-2)^2)/16^2 + ((y+2)^2)/8^2 = 1
Therefore, the equation of the ellipse is:
((x-2)^2)/256 + ((y+2)^2)/64 = 1