Final answer:
To find the equation of the ellipse with foci at (-5,9) and (-5,-10) and a major axis length of 22, use the formula
The center of the ellipse is (-5,-5) and the semiminor axis is 11. The value of a is the distance from the center to one of the foci. We find equation to be

Step-by-step explanation:
To find the equation of the ellipse with foci at (-5,9) and (-5,-10) and a major axis length of 22, we can use the formula for the distance between two points in an ellipse:

Where (h,k) is the center of the ellipse and a and b are the lengths of the semimajor and semiminor axes, respectively. In this case, since the foci are in the vertical line y = -5, the center of the ellipse is (-5,-5) and the semiminor axis b is half the length of the major axis, so b = 22/2 = 11. Now we need to find the value of a, which is the distance from the center to one of the foci:




Since a^2 is negative, we know that the equation of the ellipse is:

This can be rewritten as:
