| Elementary and Intermediate Algebra Mark Dugopolski,
Southeastern Louisiana University
Nonlinear Systems and the Conic Sections
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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