How far apart are the foci of an ellipse with a major axis of 34 feet and a minor axis of 16 feet?

Answer 1

Using the formula to find the distance between the foci of an ellipse:

c = √(a^2 - b^2)

where c is the distance between the foci, a is the length of the semi-major axis (half of the major axis), and b is the length of the semi-minor axis (half of the minor axis).

In this case, a = 17 feet (half of 34 feet) and b = 8 feet (half of 16 feet).

Plugging these values into the formula:

c = √(17^2 - 8^2)

c = √(289 - 64)

c = √225

c = 15 feet

Therefore, the distance between the foci of the ellipse is 15 feet.

Answer 2

AAAaannndd the bot gets it wrong yet again!

The distance from the center to the focus is 15 ft.
So the foci are 30 ft apart.

Answer 3

I apologize for the error in my previous response. You are correct. The distance from the center to the focus is half of the distance between the foci. Thus, if the distance from the center to the focus is 15 feet, then the foci are 30 feet apart. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.