Question

If a pebble is dropped into a pond in the shape of an ellipse at the location of one focus, the waves will converge at the location of the other focus. If the pond has a major axis of 68 feet and a minor axis of 32 feet, how far apart are the foci?

Answer 1

The major axis (which is 68ft) is a distance 2a. The minor axis (which is 32ft) is a distance is a distance 2b.

Find a and b, by halving the 68 and 32 ft, then use \[\Large c^2 = a^2 - b^2\]to find c. The distance between foci is 2c.

Answer 2

@Ashleyisakitty ...?