The foci of an ellipse are explored in this video. First, foci are shown as the two points on the central axis such that the sum of the distance from a point on the ellipse and the foci points is the same as the distance from any point on the ellipse, and that distance is 2a, where a is the length of the central axis. Next, the distance from the center to the foci along the central axis (a) is shown to be the square root of a2-b2. Finally, an example is shown where one needs to graph and find the coordinates of the foci given an equation of an ellipse.

Concepts

conic sections

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Additional Tags

foci of an ellipse, conic sections, graphing an ellipse, math

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Classroom Considerations

• This video is hosted on YouTube