Thread: Ellipse problem with "a" and "b" parameters

I don't know about other countries but in mine, the rule of an ellipse is:

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

I determined the (h,k) to be (4,-6) which is right but how do I determine the proper a and b values?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Originally Posted by s3a

I don't know about other countries but in mine, the rule of an ellipse is:

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

I determined the (h,k) to be (4,-6) which is right but how do I determine the proper a and b values?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

dont know for that rule...
never heard of it.

Anyway the rules for anything in math are the same everywhere.

ellipse formula is:

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

and the right answer is B) because you have ( 4, -3 ) , ( 4, -9 ) // ( x, y )

if you put x = 4 in B) you will get y1 = -3, y2 = -9

Originally Posted by s3a

...

...how do I determine the proper a and b values?...

!

Typically a and b are the major and minor diameters of the ellipse.