Definitions and Applications of Various Conic Sections

Conic sections is by definition the intersection of a plane and a cone. By changing the angle and location of the intersection, we can produce a circle, ellipse, parabola or hyperbola; or in the special case when the plane touches the vertex: a point, line or 2 intersecting lines. The general equation for the conic sections is: Ax2 + Bxy + Cy2 + Dx + Ey + F = 0.
Parabolas are used in real life situations such as the building of suspension bridges, the reflector of automobile headlights, and in physics with laws of gravity and the path for thrown objects such as javelins. …