Ellipses and foci points

Author:
Nate
Topic:
Ellipse

Foci points in an ellipse

A horizontal ellipse has an equation of the form with (k, k) representing the coordinates of the center, a is the horizontal distance from the center to each left and right vertex (on the major axis), and b representing the the vertical distance from the center to each up and down vertex (on the minor axis). If the ellipse is centered at the origin, h = 0 and k = 0, so the equation is simplified to . The foci points in an ellipse are represented by "c", the distance from the center to each focus point along the major axis. Enter values for a and b. What is the relationship between the lengths of a, b, and c?