Key Terms

asymptotes	Lines approached by a hyperbola.



axis of symmetry	The line of symmetry of a parabola.



circle	The set of all points in a plane equidistant from a fixed point, called the center of the circle.



conic sections	The curves obtained by intersecting a double cone with a plane.



directrix	The fixed line in the definition of a parabola.



ellipse	The set of all points (x, y), such that the sum of the distances from (x, y) to two fixed points, called the foci, is constant.



hyperbola	The set of all points (x, y), such that the difference of the distances from (x, y) to each of two fixed points, called foci, is constant.



nonlinear equation	An equation whose graph is not a straight line.



parabola	The graph of an equation of the form ax² + bx + c where a is not equal to 0.



vertex of a parabola	The highest or lowest point on a parabola.

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