Understanding Ellipses
An ellipse is a shape that resembles a squashed or flattened circle. It is defined as the set of all points such that the sum of the distances from two fixed points, known as foci, is constant. Fascinating, isn't it?
Properties of Ellipses
- The longest axis is the major axis, while the shortest one is the minor axis.
- The center is the midpoint of both the major and minor axes.
- The eccentricity of an ellipse, between 0 and 1, measures its deviation from being a circular shape.
