Parabolas

Conic Sections

The term conic section refers to the geometric shapes that are generated by the cross-section formed when intersecting a plane with a cone. The four primary shapes that we will learn about are circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas. In addition, there are a few more shapes, which are called degenerate conics, that include a line, a pair of intersecting lines, or a single point. Our focus in this course will be on the primary shapes. Use the following graph to explore the different shapes that are created by the plane and the cone when the plane is moved up and down or slanted at different angles.