A SEMI – DETAILED LESSON PLAN

IN
PRE – CALCULUS
(CONTENT: ANALYTIC GEOMETRY)

STANDARD FORM OF THE EQUATION OF AN ELLIPSE WITH CENTER

(0,0)
Prepared by: BONIE C. SANCHEZ

I. OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the discussion, the students will be able to:
a. Define and identify the parts of an ellipse.
b. Write the standard form of equation of an ellipse

II. SUBJECT MATTER

Topic: STANDARD FORM OF THE EQUATION OF AN ELLIPSE WITH
CENTER (0,0)
References: Analytic Geometry, pp. 101 – 106
Feliciano and Uy
Materials: cardboard, compass, string, marker, graphing board,
worksheet, powerpoint presentation

III. PROCEDURE

A. PREPARATION
 Prayer
 Checking of Attendance
 Review
Conic Section: Parabola and Circle
 Motivation
Basic Construction of an Ellipse
 The teacher will divide the class into four (4) groups and give
the materials to be used.
 Allow the students to do the procedure of the given activity
(see attached worksheet #1)

What type of Conic Section did you formed? (ELLIPSE)

Very Good!
B. PRESENTATION
 Today, we will discuss the third type of a conic section, an ellipse.
At the end of the discussion, you should be able to define and
identify the parts of an ellipse, write the standard form of equation
of an ellipse.

History and Development

The ellipse was first studied by Menaechmus.
Menaechmus (380 BC - 320 BC)
- a Greek mathematician who tutored Alexander the
Great in the subject.
- He was the first to investigate the ellipse, parabola
and hyperbola as sections of a cone.

Euclid wrote about the ellipse and it was given its present
name by Apollonius. The focus and directrix of an ellipse were
considered by Pappus.

Kepler, in 1602, said he believed that the orbit of Mars was

oval, then he later discovered that it was an ellipse with the sun
at one focus. In fact Kepler introduced the word "focus" and
published his discovery in 1609. The eccentricity of the
planetary orbits is small (i.e. they are close to circles). The
eccentricity of Mars is 1 /11 and of the Earth is 1 /60 .

C. LESSON PROPER

Ok class, let us first define an ellipse and its part.

 Use the geometric figure formed by the students in the previous
activity to define and identify the parts of an ellipse.
 Solicit ideas from the students to define each part of an ellipse

Unlocking of Difficulties
ELLIPSE – is the set of all points (x,y) in a plane such that the sum of their
distances from the fixed point is constant
FOCUS/FOCI (Plural) – the fixed point of the ellipse and lies on the major axis
MAJOR AXIS – longer axis of symmetry of the ellipse
 MINOR AXIS – shorter axis of symmetry of the ellipse
VERTEX – the endpoint of the major axis
CO – VERTEX – the endpoint of the minor axis
CENTER OF AN ELLIPSE - the midpoint of both major and minor axes of symmetry
CONSTANT SUM – sum of the distances from the foci to any point on the ellipse
and it is greater than the distance between the foci.
In this lesson, we restrict ellipses to those that are positioned vertically or
horizontally in the coordinate plane. That is, the axes will either lie on or be parallel to
the x– and y-axes. As we go on to this topic, we will see ellipses that are rotated in the
coordinate plane.
To work with horizontal and vertical ellipses in the coordinate plane, we consider
two cases: those that are centered at the origin and those that are centered at a point
other than the origin but we will focus on the first case. First, we will learn to derive the
equations of ellipses, and then we will learn how to write the equations of ellipses in
standard form. Later we will use what we learn to draw the graphs.
DERIVATION OF FORMULA

Modified Instructions (GROUPWORK)

Examine the given figure, Apply the different concepts you have learned in your
Junior High School Math subject. Derive a formula of an Ellipse with your groupmates.
You are given 10 minutes to do your work, after which you will present your formula to
the class.

If (a, 0) is a vertex of the ellipse, the distance from (-c, 0) to (a, 0) is a – (-c) =
a+c. The distance from (c, 0) to (a, 0) is a – c. The sum of the distances from the
foci to the vertex is (a+c) + (a – c) = 2a
If (x, y) is a point on the ellipse, then we can define the following variables:
d1 = the distance from (-c, 0) to (x ,y)
d2 = the distance from (c,0) to (x, y)
By the definition of an ellipse, d 1 + d2 is constant for any point (x, y) on the
ellipse. We know that the sum of these distances is 2a for the vertex (a,0). It follows
that d1 + d2 = 2a for any point on the ellipse.
We will begin the derivation by applying the distance formula
d1 + d2 = 2a
 √ x−(−c)2 +( y−0)2 + √(x−c)2 +( y−0)2 = 2a Distance Formula

√(x +c )2+ y 2 + √(x−c)2 + y 2 = 2a

√(x +c )2+ y 2 = 2a - √(x−c)2 + y 2
(x +c ) + y = [ 2 a−√ (x−c)2+ y 2 ]
2 2 2

√
x2 + 2cx + c2 + y2 = 4a2 – 4a (x−c)2 + y 2 + (x−c)2+ y 2

x2 + 2cx + c2 + y2 = 4a2 – 4a√ (x−c)2 + y 2 + x 2

– 2cx + c2 + y2

√
4cx = 4a2 – 4a (x−c)2 + y 2

4cx – 4a = -4a√ (x−c)2 + y 2

2

cx – a = -a√ (x−c)2 + y 2
2

[ cx −a2 ] = a2[ √(x −c)2 + y 2 ]

2 2

c2x2 – 2a2cx + a4 = a2 (x2 – 2cx + c2 +y2 )

c2x2 – 2a2cx + a4 = a2x2 – 2a2cx + a2c2 + a2y2
a2x2 - c2x2 + a2y2 = a4 - a2c2
x2 (a2 – c2 ) + a2y2 = a2 ( a2 – c2)
x2 b2 + a2y2 = a2 b2
2 2 2 2 2 2
x b a y a b
2 2
+ 2 2 = 2 2
a b a b a b
2 2
x y
2
+ 2
=1 Standard Form
a b
This equation defines an ellipse centered at the origin. If a > b, the ellipse is
stretched further in the horizontal direction, and if b > a, the ellipse is stretched
further in vertical direction.
Let us try !
Example #1.
What is the standard form equation of the ellipse that has vertices (±8,0) and foci (±5,
0)?
Solution:
The foci are on the x – axis , so the major axis is on the x – axis, thus the
2 2
x y
equation will have the form 2
+ 2 = 1.
a b
The vertices are (±8,0), so a = 8 and a2 = 64
The foci are (±5, 0), so c = 5 and c 2 = 25
We know that the vertices and foci are related by the equation c 2 = a2 – b2. Solving for
b2, we have
c2 = a 2 – b 2
 25 = 64 – b2
b2 = 64 – 25
b2 = 39
Now, we substitute a2 = 64 and b2 = 39 into the standard form of the equation.
2 2
x y
2
+ 2 =1
a b
2 2
x y
+ =1
64 39
(show the graph to the students)
Example #2
Write in standard form of the equation of an ellipse given that vertices (0, ±7) and foci
(0, ±6). Then graph.
62 = a 2 – b 2
36 = 49 – b2
b2 = 49– 36
b2 = 13
Question: Can we write and graph the equation of an ellipse given the
coordinates of just one vertex and focus? Explain.

COMPREHENSION CHECK
Label all the properties of Ellipse Let the student with Learning
Disability to pick strips of paper with
the properties of Ellipse and let
him/her match those strips of paper
written the properties of Ellipse to the
given figure on the board.

D. APPLICATION

BOARDWORK/ GROUPWORK
Directions: Write the equation of an ellipse in standard form given the vertices
and the foci with center at (0,0). (Allow students to explain their work to the
class)
1. V(12, 0); F( 10, 0)
2. V(5, 0); F(4,0)
3. V(0,9); F(0,5)
4. V(0,10); F(0,8)
E. VALUING
Allow students to watch the video
Let them reflect about the video clip

IV. EVALUATION
 Write the equation of an ellipse in standard form, then Graph.
Center at (0,0)
1. V(15, 0); F(10,0)
2. V(0,15); F(0,10)

V. ASSIGNMENT
Write the equation of an ellipse in standard form, then Graph.
Center at (0,0)

1. V(-7, 0); F(-5,0)

2. V(0,-7); F(0,-5)

Worksheet#1
Basic Construction of Ellipse
Materials: cardboard, string, compass , push pin, pencil
Procedure:
Start with the height and width of the desired ellipse. The two lines are the major and
minor axes of the ellipse. The major axis is the longer one.
1. With the compasses’ point on the center, set the compasses’ width to half the width
(major axis) of the desired ellipse.
2. Move the compasses’ point to one end of the minor axis of the desired ellipse and draw
arcs across the major axis
3. Where these arcs cross the major axis are the foci of the ellipse. Label them F1 and F2.
4. Put a pin in each end of the major axis (they will be moved later), and tie a string to
them so that the string between them is taut. The best way to do this is to push the pin
through the string itself if possible, rather than tying a knot.
5. Leaving the string attached, move the pins to the focus points F1, F2. Put a pencil point
against the string and pull the string taut with the pencil.
6. Keeping the string taut, move the pencil in large arc. The pencil will draw out the
desired ellipse. To avoid the string catching on the pins, you may find it better to draw
the upper and lower of the ellipse separately.
7. Done. The ellipse will pass through the four initial points defining the ends of the major
and minor axes.

Prepared by:

BONIE C. SANCHEZ Checked by:

Subject Teacher
JIMMY ANN B. GUILLERMO
SHS Coordinator/ MT – II

Noted by:

JASMINE P. BRINGAS
 Principal – II

A SEMI – DETAILED LESSON PLAN

IN
PRE – CALCULUS

Preapred by:
BONIE C. SANCHEZ
SHS Teacher
(STEM)