Section 9.7 Polar Equations of Conics 691 Moa kc Alternative Definition of Conics and Polar Equations In Sections 9.2 and 93, yu ae that the rete cqaton of clips ane ® eeaiintmsat hyperbola ake imple forms wen he crgin eat he centr AS happens, here are ‘els ndrtnand ifiny Jnipotantpplicdiond of cosica i whichis store efevenicat tits ore at he aon Jt tg nh wo, yo wl ey ht argos of cos ke, guy Simple fom when neo he fi esate ple Ty begin comer the fllowngalematve defnion of «conic that uss the f]_ uuetometraite concept of eccentricity (a measure of the flatness of the conic). Leama What you should learn Why you should learn it ‘Akemative Definition of a Conic The its of planets an satis can berodeled by polar equations Ferinsan, infers 0 age 681, youl eo equation to rode the eit of ste Figure 9.79 ‘The benefit of locating a focus of a conic atthe pole is that the equation of the conic becomes simpler, Polar Equations of Conics (See the proof on page 709.) Consider aking student investigate the polar equation of conics given her for Fixed values of eae p. Students should dlscover how the + and the sie cosine lect the orertation an location ofthe Actix before these effects are described on page 693, tro een692 Chapter 9 Topics in Analytic Geometry ‘An equation of the form ” Saat Vera directs T 4 ecos corresponds to a conic with a vertical directrix and symmetry with respect to the polar ‘An equation of the form —__e_ sesind corresponds to a conic with a horizontal directrix and symmetry with respect to the line {= 7/2. Moreover, the converse is also true—that is, any conic with a focus at the pole and having a horizontal or vertical directrix can be represented by one of the given Horizontal dot sows Example1_ Identifying a Conic from Its Equation Taentity the iype of conic represented bythe equation 1s 7320080 Algebraic Solution Graphical Solution “To identify the typo of conis, row ths saton:in the | ‘Uc a gmhing ity im polar tua snd be sre i. we form r= ep/(1 £ €c05 0). ‘square setting, as shown in Figure 9.80. Is 2cso ll D 5 Prririsemutbetr ant T we Ee Lear Because ellipse. sheveexwonr Now try Exercise 15. For the ellipse in Figure 9.80, the major axis is horizontal and the vertices lie at (r, 0) = (15,0) and (r, 8) = (3, 7). So, the length of the major axis is 2a conclude that Btpse ‘hich implies that b= VB - 35. ‘So, the length of the minor axis is 2b = 6V3. A similar analysis for hyperbolas yields Ree-@ = (ea)? = a? = aXe ~ 1). HyperbolaSection 9.7 Polar Equations of Conics 693. Activites Example2_Analyzing the Graph of a Polar Equation a Analyze the graph of the polar equation 4 sant p= 2 Ansver: Hyperola 34 Ssind 2 ind olrequaon of he parabola wih ea he pte and arin Solution aon Dividing the numerator and denominator by 3 produces anor: = 22 T+ 6/3)sind Because ¢=4> 1, the graph is a hyperbola, The wansverse axis of the hhyperbota lies on the line @ = 7/2, and the vertices occur at (r, 8) = (47/2) and (r, 0) = (—16, 377/2). Because the length of the transverse axis is 12, you can see that “To find 6, write B= aXe? 1 -6[ GY - 1-64. So, 6 = 8. You can use and to detemine that the asymptote ae y = 10 4x, as stow in Figure 9 sevecxwonr Now try Exercise 27. tne nex crane you ae ke fi pl eqn fra peed cone To do this, let p be the distance between TEN G G FE 1 al ean ee: A 2: Horzma docs art hoe: ear nin g peacoat a poem Try using a graphing See aera a eam ult in polar mode « to verify the four 4, Vertical directrix to the left ofthe pole: r = ——“P_— orientations shown at the left. T= ecosd Example3_Finding the Polar Equation of a Conic Find the polar equation of the parabola whose focus is the pole and whose Quick Review directrix is the line y = 3, “Tre or fale 1. To conver from rectangular to polar Solution coordinates, we the equation x = co 0 Aner: Fase 2, The graph of 2r= 3 see Vis symmenc ‘with resp to the polar axis Answers Troe From Figure 9.82, you can see thatthe directrix is horizontal and above the pole. Moreover, because the eccentricity of a parabola is e = 1 and the distance between the pole and the directrix is p = 3, you have 5 8. The gnph ofr = sin is a emniscae the equation eer e Answer: Fase @ 3 44, The polar equation T¥esing 1+ sind ree Ta 02sc088 4s aconie wit a verieal directrix to the right ofthe ple. sewscxoons _Now try Exercise 37. Anower: False694 Chapter 9 Topics in Analytic Geometry Application Kepler’s Laws (listed below), named after the German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630), can be used to describe the orbits of the planets about the sun. 1. Bach planet moves in an elliptical orbit with the sun as a focus. 2. A ray from the sun to the planet sweeps out equal areas ofthe ellipse in equal times. 3. The square of the period (the time it takes for a planet to orbit the sun) is proportional tothe cube ofthe mean distance between the planet and the sun. Although Kepler simply stated these laws on the basis of observation, they were later validated by Isaac Newton (1642-1727) In fact, Newton was able to show that each Jaw can be deduced from a set of universal laws of motion and gravitation that gover the movement of all heavenly bodies, including comets and satellites. This is illustrated in the next example, which involves the comet named after the English mathematician and physicist Edmund Halley (1656-1742), If you use Earth asa reference with a period of 1 year and a distance of 1 astronomical unit (an astronomical unit is defined as the mean distance between Earth and the sun, or about 93 million miles), then the proportionality constant in Kepler’s third law is 1. For example, because Mars has a mean distance to the sun of ‘4 ~ 1.524 astronomical units, its period P is given by OP Astronomer So, the period of Mars is P ~ 1.88 years. txample4_Hilley’s Com ( EN GA G F Halley's comet has an eliptid@b orbit with an eccentriity OF ~ 0.967. Th ofthe major ah htm prima 35.89 toon in i pol a eae Solution Using a vertical major axis, as shown in Figure 9.83, choose an equation of the form ~0 Earth ep 1+ esine Halleys Because the vertices of the ellipse occur at 9 = 7/2 and @ = 37/2, you can determine the length of the major axis to be the sum of the r-values of the vertices. That is, 0967p, _0.967p 1+ 0967 * 1 - 0967 So, p = 1.204 and ep ~ (0.967)(1.204) ~ 1.166. 2a = = 20.19p ~ 35.88. Using this value of ep in the equation, you have 1.164 1+ 0.967 sind ‘where ris measured in astronomical units. To find the closest point to the sun (the focus), substitute @ = 7/2 into this equation to obtain 1.164 ae = 0589 ssttonomical nits 55,000,000 mites “+ 0.967 sin(a/2) : F aliens = 55,000,000. oe ewxcroon Now ty Exercise 55. Figure 9.83 ten tantsetrnesSection 9.7 Polar Equations of Conics 695. ck fei 9.7 Exercises ntcom Vocabulary and Concept Check 1. Fill in the blank: The locus of a point in the plane that moves such that its distance from a fixed point (focus) is in a constant ratio to its distance from a fixed line (directrix) is a 2. Match the conic with its eccentricity. @O 1 and 0 < @ < 2m, the graphs of the following equations are the same. ee e(=x) T= ecosd T+ ecosé 64, The graph of r= ay cat be obtained 1— sin[o by rotating the graph of 5 Tea shout the poe 65. Verifying a Polar Equation Show that the polar equation ofthe ellipse T= econ 66. Verifying a Polar Equi equation ofthe hyperbola oF. ae Bol is Show that the polar Section 9.7 Polar Equations of Conics 697 Writing @ Polar Equation In Exereises 67-72, use the results of Exercises 65 and 66 to write the polar form of, ‘the equation of the conic. 71. Hyperbola One focus: (5, 0) Ventices: (4, 0), (4, 2) ‘72, Ellipse One focus: (4,0) Vertices: (5, 0), (5, 7) 73. Exploration Consider the polar equation eo Bs = 0.4 008 6 (a) Identify the conic without graphing the equation. (b) Without graphing the following polar equations, describe how each differs from the given polar equation, Setcenneny to verify your results 4 S" Ta esas Bal n iE mt of an ellipse with 0 < e < 1, What lengths of both the major axis and the minor axi-When the value of e remains fixed and the vvalue of p changes? Use an example to explain your reasoning. 75. Think About It What conic does the polar equation given by r = asin @ + bcos @ represent? 76, CAPSTONE In your own words, define the term eeceniricity and explain how it can be used to classify, conics. Then explain how you can use the values of b and cto determine whether a polar equation of the form — A. br esind represents an ellipse, a parabola, or a hyperbola. Cumulative Mixed Review Evaluating a Trigonometric Expression In Exercises 77-80, find the value of the trigonometric fanetion siven that w and y are in Quadrant IV and sin w and cos» = 1/V3, 71. costu +») 78, sin(u +») 79. sin(u ~ v) 80. cos(u ~ v)