Trigonometry Examples

Find the Foci 4x^2+y^2=144
Step 1
Find the standard form of the ellipse.
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Step 1.1
Divide each term by to make the right side equal to one.
Step 1.2
Simplify each term in the equation in order to set the right side equal to . The standard form of an ellipse or hyperbola requires the right side of the equation be .
Step 2
This is the form of an ellipse. Use this form to determine the values used to find the center along with the major and minor axis of the ellipse.
Step 3
Match the values in this ellipse to those of the standard form. The variable represents the radius of the major axis of the ellipse, represents the radius of the minor axis of the ellipse, represents the x-offset from the origin, and represents the y-offset from the origin.
Step 4
Find , the distance from the center to a focus.
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Step 4.1
Find the distance from the center to a focus of the ellipse by using the following formula.
Step 4.2
Substitute the values of and in the formula.
Step 4.3
Simplify.
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Step 4.3.1
Raise to the power of .
Step 4.3.2
Raise to the power of .
Step 4.3.3
Multiply by .
Step 4.3.4
Subtract from .
Step 4.3.5
Rewrite as .
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Step 4.3.5.1
Factor out of .
Step 4.3.5.2
Rewrite as .
Step 4.3.6
Pull terms out from under the radical.
Step 5
Find the foci.
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Step 5.1
The first focus of an ellipse can be found by adding to .
Step 5.2
Substitute the known values of , , and into the formula.
Step 5.3
Simplify.
Step 5.4
The first focus of an ellipse can be found by subtracting from .
Step 5.5
Substitute the known values of , , and into the formula.
Step 5.6
Simplify.
Step 5.7
Ellipses have two foci.
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Step 6