Intercepts & Focus of an Ellipse: 50x^2 + 8y^2 = 200

Kimby

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Sep 17, 2006
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What would the intercepts and focus be (I think this is an ellipse) given this equation?

. . .50x^2 + 8y^2 = 200

I've figured out that a = 2 and b = 5; the length of the major axis is 2a = 4; the length of the minor axis is 2b = 10. Now I need to find the intercepts and the focus.

Thanks for you help.
 
50x<sup>2</sup> + 8y<sup>2</sup> = 200

x<sup>2</sup>/4 + y<sup>2</sup>/25 = 1

x<sup>2</sup>/2<sup>2</sup> + y<sup>2</sup>/5<sup>2</sup> = 1

a = 2, b = 5

since this ellipse is centered at the origin, x-intercepts are (-2, 0) and (2,0)
y-intercepts are (0, 5) and (0, -5).

btw ... the major axis of this ellipse lies along the y-axis and is equal to 10.

foci of the ellipse are located at (0, c) and (0, -c) where c = sqrt(b<sup>2</sup> - a<sup>2</sup>)
 
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