Web Activities

CHAPTER 7 INVESTIGATING LOCI AND CONICS

The Scenario

Conic sections are among the oldest curves, and conics is one of the oldest math subjects studied systematically and thoroughly. The conics were first defined as the intersection of: a right circular cone of varying vertex angle — a plane perpendicular to an element of the cone. (An element of a cone is any line that makes up the cone.) Depending on whether the angle is less than, equal to, or greater than 90°, we get an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola respectively.

Use the Internet or others resources to find at least three real world applications of each conic section: the circle, the parabola, the ellipse, and the hyperbola. You may wish to begin your search with real world conic applications or investigate the reflective properties of conics.

Your Job

Create a report that includes the following items:

• For each application that you find (minimum of 12 in total), a description of how and where each conic section is applied in a real world context
• A diagram or picture that illustrates each application
  

Choose the application that interests you most and create a poster that can be displayed in the classroom, that includes the following items:

• A title
• A picture
• A brief explanation of the application
  

You will be assessed on how well the report and the poster address the criteria mentioned above.