Concept Overview
Conic sections are curves formed from equations in coordinate geometry.
The main conics studied in school are circles, parabolas, ellipses, and hyperbolas.
They appear in paths, mirrors, satellites, architecture, optics, and graphing.
A conic section is a curve described by a seconegree equation.
A circle has all points at the same distance from a centre.
A parabola has points equally placed from a focus and a directrix.
An ellipse has points whose distances from two fixed points have a constant sum.