Precalculus Name: ___________________________________

Unit 10: Conic Sections

Real World Applications Project

Part 1 (25 points): You will create a collage of pictures illustrating all four conic sections
(circles, ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas) found in nature (leaves, flowers, body parts,
etc.), architecture (bridges, doorways, etc.), and everyday items (appliances, logos,
furniture, etc.).

Requirements: Your project must contain:

1. Pictures of the entire objects where the conic section is found
2. Five different examples for each of the four conic sections: circles, ellipses, parabolas, and
hyperbolas (no repeat pictures are allowed)
3. Trace, in marker, the conic in each picture
4. Title for the poster
5. CREATIVITY!!!

Illustration: Your collage should be created using the following restrictions:

* white or colored poster board
* use scissors to cut out pictures (no tearing)
* use glue to paste pictures (no taping)

Part 2 (25 points): Congratulations! You have just been upgraded from the status of Metro
student to Metro Conics Artist! The job has been given to you to help critique your mastery
and ability of graphing and creating equations of conic sections.

You will be creating a MASTERPIECE, a work of art, that proudly displays conic sections. But of
course, you will also need to display their equations, as well. You must design an image that
represents at least one of the real world objects (nature, architecture, or everyday item) you
found in Part 1. You may design by hand or using Desmos.

Your art work must contain:

- At least 10 conic sections (2 of each conic – parabolas, circles, ellipses, and
hyperbolas)
- Equations for ALL conics used in your art work neatly labeled and written
- At least 4 domain restrictions (your conic will not necessarily go on forever and forever
and you will need to show where you are stopping them on your equation sheet)
- At least 5 conics NOT CENTERED at the origin
- COLOR!!
- On the same paper as your equations, I will also like for you to answer the following
questions:
1) What did you learn from doing this project? (At least 5 sentences)
2) What difficulties did you face and how did you solve them? (At least 10 sentences)
3) How did you come up with the idea of the picture? (At least 5 sentences)
Part 3 (25 points): You will answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
Clearly label the questions and show all necessary steps.
1. A satellite dish is shaped like a paraboloid of revolution. The signals that emanate from
a satellite strike the surface of the dish and are reflected to a single point, where the
receiver is located. If the dish is 8 feet across at its’ opening and 3 feet deep at its’
center, at what position should the receiver be placed?

2. The towers of a suspension bridge are 400 feet apart and 100 feet high. Cables are at
a height of 10 feet between the towers. Assume the x-axis is the road and the y-axis is
the center of the bridge, write an equation for the parabola. What is the height of the
cable at a point 50 feet from one of the towers?

3. The parabolic arch shown in the figure is 50 feet above the water at the center and
200 feet wide at the base. Will a boat that is 30 feet tall clear the arch 30 feet from the
center?
4. Two towers OP and RQ of a suspension bridge are 50 meters high and 60 meters apart.
A cable is suspended between P and Q and approximates the shape of a parabola.
The maximum sag in the middle of the cable is 20 m.
1. Find the coordinates of the vertex of the parabola.
2. Find the equation of the parabola.
3. How high is the cable directly above X, given that XR = 10 meters?

5. Use the following diagram of the bridge to answer each question. Assume the road is
the x-axis and the center of the bridge is the y-axis.
1. Write an equation of the parabolic support.
2. Find the height of the vertical support 15 meters from the center.
 6. The design of a garden is shown at the left. A pond is to
be built in the center region. What is the equation of the
largest circular pond centered at the origin that would fit
within the walkways?

7. The University of Southern California is located about

2.5 miles West and about 2.8 miles South of downtown L.A. Suppose an earthquake
occurs with its’ epicenter about 40 miles from the university. Assume that the origin of a
coordinate plane is located at the center of downtown L.A. Write an equation for the
set of points that could be the epicenter of the earthquake.

8. The Whispering Gallery in the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago is 47.3 feet
long. The distance from the center of the room to the foci is 20.3 feet. Find an equation
that describes the shape of the room. How high is the room at its’ center?

9. A racetrack is in the shape of an ellipse, 100 feet long and 50 feet wide. What is the
width of the racetrack 10 feet from the vertex?
10. An arch in the shape of the upper half of an ellipse is used to support a bridge that is
to span a river 20 meters wide. The center of the arch is 6 meters above the center of
the river. Write an equation for the ellipse in which the x-axis coincides with the water
level and the y-axis passes through the center of the arch.

11. A satellite is in elliptical orbit around the earth with the center of the Earth at one
focus. The distance of the satellite from the Earth varies between 140 mi and 440 mi.
Assume the Earth is a sphere with radius 3960 miles. Find an equation for the path of
the satellite.

12. A forester at an outpost and another forester at the primary station both heard an
explosion. The outpost and the primary station are 6 kilometers apart. If one forester
heard the explosion 6 seconds before the other, write an equation that describes all
the possible locations of the explosion. Place the two forester stations on the x-axis with
the midpoint between the
stations at the origin. The
transverse axis is horizontal.
(Hint: The speed of sound is
about .35 kilometer per
second). Draw a sketch of the
possible locations of the
explosion. Include the ranger
stations in the drawing.
Grading: You will be graded according to the following rubric:

Part 1:
Category Points Possible Points

5 examples of circles 5 points (1pt for each)

5 examples of ellipses 5 points (1pt for each)

5 examples of parabolas 5 points (1pt for each)

5 examples of hyperbolas 5 points (1pt for each)

Examples of nature (at least 5) 5 points (1pt for each)

Examples of architecture (at least 5) 5 points (1pt for each)

Examples of everyday items 10 points (1pt for each)

Tracing of the conic sections 20 points (1pt for each)

Title 2 points

Neat/Unique/Appropriate Up to 8 extra points

Total Points: 70

Scaled Down to Being out of 25 points: ________ / 25

Part 2:
Points 1 3 4 5
Technical There are more The equations The equations The equations
Correctness than five errors in representing representing representing curves in
the equations curves in the curves in the the artistic rendering
used to represent artistic rendering artistic rendering are correct.
the curves of the have three to five have one or two
artistic rendering errors. errors.
or the equations
were not given.
Variety of Conics There are seven or One to three of Ten conics are At least three
Used more conics not in the required ten represented in the additional conics are
the technical conics are not technical drawing. included over the
drawing represented in the required ten conics.
technical
drawing.
Difficulty Level Conics that are All conics are The conic sections The conic sections
included do not included, but no represent the represent parabola,
have the domain appropriate ellipse, circle and
appropriate restrictions are parabola, ellipse, hyperbola are not
used. circle and centered at the origin.
 domain hyperbola with at Conics included are
restrictions. least three domain those with at least four
restrictions as domain restrictions with
appropriate. a variety of orientation.
Organization The project is not The project is not The project is The project is presented
organized and separated into presented with the in a professional format.
cannot be organized parts: artistic rendering, All equations are typed
followed. equations and the technical into a word document
graphs. It is hard drawing, the or neatly written.
to follow along. equations are easy
to follow.
Artistic Rendering The artistic The artistic The artistic The artistic rendering
rendering has four rendering does rendering represents the
or more errors in its not represent the represents the technical drawing and
representation of technical drawing technical drawing contains extra details
the technical in one to three and color is that make it attractive
drawing. ways or is not added. and a complete
colored. drawing.

TOTAL POINTS: __________ / 25

Part 3:
Category Points Possible Points
Accuracy 12 (1 per question)
Work Shown 12 (1 per question
Organization 1

TOTAL POINTS: __________ / 25