Student handout: Conic Sections

Central Forces 2021
  • Polar Plots
  • Parameters that affect orbit shape
  • group Small Group Activity schedule 30 min. build Computers with Maple or Mathematica and the appropriate Conic Sections Maple/Mathematica worksheet, A handout for each student description Student handout (PDF)
What students learn
  • Polar Plots
  • Parameters that affect orbit shape

In the Mathematica Worksheet Conics.nb or the online Geogebra visualization at GMM: Graphs in Polar Coordinates or GCF: Graphs in Polar Coordinates, you will examine a three parameter family of curves described by the polar equation \[r(\phi)=\frac{\alpha}{1+\epsilon\cos(\phi+\delta)}.\] Describe in detail how the shape of the plot depends on the parameters \(\alpha\), \(\delta\), and \(\epsilon\). Pay particular attention to different values of \(\epsilon\).

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Learning Outcomes