Question

What is the length of the minor axis for the ellipse defined by (x+1)^2/1+(y-8)^2/49=1

Answer 1

its twice the sqrt of the smaller denominator for an ellipse

Answer 2

major axis has a length of 2(sqrt(49))= 14 for this one

minor is a length of 2(sqrt(1))=2

Answer 3

the sqrts of the denoms give the distance from the center of the conic; you have to double it to get the length from vertex to vertex