Precalculus Examples

$\frac{x^{2}}{36} + \frac{y^{2}}{9} = 1$

Step 1

Simplify each term in the equation in order to set the right side equal to $1$ . The standard form of an ellipse or hyperbola requires the right side of the equation be $1$ .

$\frac{x^{2}}{36} + \frac{y^{2}}{9} = 1$

Step 2

This is the form of an ellipse. Use this form to determine the values used to find the center along with the major and minor axis of the ellipse.

$\frac{{(x - h)}^{2}}{a^{2}} + \frac{{(y - k)}^{2}}{b^{2}} = 1$

Step 3

Match the values in this ellipse to those of the standard form. The variable $a$ represents the radius of the major axis of the ellipse, $b$ represents the radius of the minor axis of the ellipse, $h$ represents the x-offset from the origin, and $k$ represents the y-offset from the origin.

$a = 6$

$b = 3$

$k = 0$

$h = 0$

Step 4

The center of an ellipse follows the form of $(h, k)$ . Substitute in the values of $h$ and $k$ .

$(0, 0)$

Step 5