Math problem.Help me!

[iwfc87]

Hey all...

Got this math problem.

I've attached a the problem below and what I think the question looks like below.

 

Other than that, I'm lost.

[BigMoosie]

First off, you drew the line horizontally rather than vertically.

 

To find the distance between two points use this formula:

[math]d = \sqrt{(x_0 - x_1)^2 + (y_0 - y_1)^2}[/math]

 

In your case:

[math]d_F = \sqrt{(x-1)^2 + y^2}[/math]

 

And use the absolute value to get the horizontal distane:

[math]d = | x_0 - x_1 |[/math]

 

And in your case:

[math]d_L = | x+1 |[/math]

 

Is this clear?

[iwfc87]

Yes it is. Thanks a lot. I was jsut utterly confused with the question.

And the graph thing..whoops..my bad.

[iwfc87]

Apparently the equation [math]d_L /d_F= e [/math] should be an eclipse.

I haven't quite got that. I get something nasty and gross looking like the equation below; which isn't quite an eclipse upon plotting.

 

Have I done somehting wrong here :S?

(plot is when e=1).

[gnpatterson]

e=1 is a special case, if you plot some other values you will see other conic sections.

 

The form of the equation _is_ that of an ellipse, if you have to, you can rearrange it into the cannonical form. Do you remember the trick of completing the square?

[iwfc87]

Well I do, but I'm not sure how to apply it here.

 

I've attached what I've done. From then on, I'm clueless.

 

I'm trying to get it in the standard form of (x+c/a)^2+(y+d/b)^2=1.