apulanco
Apr 26, 2012, 01:52 PM
Ellipse equation
The stadium shown in the figure below is constructed in the shape of an ellipse with major and minor axes 450 and 260 meters, respectively. Find an equation for this ellipse.
ebaines
Apr 27, 2012, 06:08 AM
The basic formula for an ellipse is:
\frac {(x-x_0)^2} {a^2} + \frac {(y-y_0)^2} {b^2} = 1
where a and b are the lengths of the semi-major and semi-minor axes, and (x_0,y_0) are the coordinates of the center. This assumes the major axis is aligned with the x-axis and the minor with the y-axis. If the major axis is actually along the y-axis then b is the semi-major axis length and a the semi-minor.
Post back with what you think the answer is and we'll check it for you.