Question

Suppose you are planning a party at an elliptical park with one game at each foci. The major axis of the ellipse is 80 yd and the minor axis is 28 yd. How many yards will the games be from one another? round to the nearest whole number

Answer 1

Well, if you are going directly from one to another, the you can simply use Pythagorean Theorem with the two sides being 80yd and 28yd.
\[d^2=80^2+28^2\]
\[d=\sqrt{6400+784}\]
\[d \approx84.7585\]
If you are going along the arc of the ellipse, then I don't know the formula.

Answer 2

I did the same thing but do not know the formula either :/ I guess ill go with my gut, thank you anyways (: