Overview

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We shall now consider a certain type of curve called a conic section. Each of these curves is the curve of intersection of a plane with a right circular cone and each is also the curve defined by a second-degree equation. It is also true that any second-degree equation in [math]x[/math] and [math]y[/math] defines one of these curves or a degenerate form of one of them. We encounter all of them---the circle, the parabola, the ellipse, and the hyperbola---frequently in mathematics and also in the physical world.

General references

Doyle, Peter G. (2008). "Crowell and Slesnick's Calculus with Analytic Geometry" (PDF). Retrieved Oct 29, 2024.