Talk:Conic Sections

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I've moved all 5 pages to WB:NP friendly names... --Azertus 23:00, 13 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Illustrations needed

At a minimum, I suggest two illustrations for each conic, one showing the plane intersecting with the cone to form the conic, and another showing the conic straight on, with characteristic points (center, foci, vertex) and lines (axes, directrix, asymptotes) of the conic section denoted. StuRat 02:38, 29 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Revamping

I hate to be so assertive, but here's what I plan on doing in terms of structure:

Conic Sections Introduction: Just what it says. Connections to Flatland.

Types of Conic Sections
General Conic Sections: Two equation formats (Ax^2+Bxy+Cy^2+Dx+Ey+F=0 and (x-h)^2/A+y^2/B=1)
The Circle
The Ellipse
The Parabola
The Hyperbola
Lines and Points: Unofficial Conic Sections: just to mention it.

Features of Conic Sections
Foci of Conic Sections: The foci, directrix, and defining conic sections in terms of that.
Conic Sections as Loci: defining conic sections as loci. No axes involved.
Eccentricity: Stuff about eccentricity. Identifying conic sections by eccentricity.

Conic Sections as Algebraic Relations
Intercepts of Conic Sections: finding x and y intercepts. How this can help graphing
Translation of Axes: how the take the ABCDEF format and transpose the x and y axes
Rotation of Axes: derivation of most things worth knowing about rotation
Rotation of Axes (examples): examples on a seperate page
Slopes of Conic Sections: Calculus stuff. Implicit derivation

Concluding Remarks: applications of conic sections (parabolas as paths of objects under gravity, for example)
Acknowledgements and Further Reading: Just that. Some sources contributors have found helpful.

Just leave it be for a while. I'll at least establish the structure, and then some. Gracenotes ^T § 02:48, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

Once again, would you be so kind as to not touch anything! Thank you. I'd just like to get off on the right foot. Including me, there have only been 10 edits in the past year. The next one is technically not due until about 2 weeks.Gracenotes ^T § 02:53, 22 June 2006 (UTC)

This is a wiki. If you ask nicely, I'll leave it alone for a week or two, but eventually this will be "edited mercilessly", etc. How can I help make it better? --DavidCary 20:01, 18 October 2007 (UTC)