Lesson 8:

Creating Conics

By Carly Coffman

 

 


Now that we have studied conic sections, you will come up with an equation of a conic given some information about the conic.  In applications, many times you are given a situation and must determine what type of conic section your data fits.  So, I hope you’re ready to show off your knowledge of conics!

 

Given a picture of a conic, come up with the equation of the conic.

 

1)   

 

 

2)      

 

 

3)              

 

 

 

4)              

 


 

Now, you will be given a set of data in Excel.  We will go through one example and then I’ll set you free on your own. 

 

Click on this link to see data for a dolphin’s jump.

(this is not true data)

Dolphin Data

 

From the graph, we can determine that the pattern is a parabola.  So, we know the equation must be

 

When clicking on the vertex, we can see that the coordinates are (2.5, 10) so we can substitute these values for h and k respectively.  Then, we can select another point on the graph, (5,0) and substitute these values for x and y respectively.  So we get the following equation:

Simplifying we get:

 

 

So, the equation for the graph above is:


 

Now it’s your turn.  Find the equation that best fits the following sets of data.

(Copy and paste each set of data and graph into your Word document)

 

3)               Football Pass

 

4)               Australian Football

 

Print your Word document.  You are now finished with the Conics Unit!


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