Asked by Airisse

Show that the equation

sqrt((x-c)^2 + y^2)+sqrt((x+c)^2 + y^2) = 2a

can be simplified to

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

where b^2 = a^2-c^2.

Answers

Answered by Steve
Draw a diagram of an ellipse. Draw diagonals from (0,b) to (-c,0) and (c,0)

The definition of such an ellipse is that the sum of the distances from a point to the foci is constant, and = 2a where a,b,c are described above.

Just google any explanation of the definition of an ellipse, its foci, and eccentricity.
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