Lecture 23

Classification of Conics & Surfaces

Classification of Conics A conic is a curve in R2 which is represented by an equation of second degree

in two variable, called quadratic curve. The general equation of such a conic (quadratic curve) is given
by
ax2 + 2hxy + by 2 + 2gx + 2f y + c = 0 (1)
where a, b, h, g, f, c ∈ R and (a, b, h) 6= (0, 0, 0).
    
a h x x
Then Equation (1) can be written as (x, y) + (2g, 2f ) + c = 0. Here, H(X) =
   h b y y  
a h x T a h
(x, y) = X AX is called the associated quadratic form of the conic (1), where A =
h b y h b
is
 a symmetric
 matrix. Suppose λ1 , λ2 are eigenvalues of A and P
 is an orthogonal
  matrix such
 that

λ1 0 T λ1 0 T x x
= P AP . Then Equation (1) can be written as (x, y)P P + +(2g, 2f ) +
0 λ2   0 λ 2 y y
x0
 
x
c = 0. Set 0 =P T
. Then Equation (1) can be written as λ1 x02 + λ2 y 02 + 2g 0 x0 + 2f 0 y 0 + c0 = 0.
y y
If λ1 , λ2 6= 0, then equation can be reduced to the following form

λ1 (x0 + α)2 + λ2 (y 0 + β)2 = µ.

If λ1 = 0 and λ2 6= 0, the reduced equation is of the form λ2 (y20 + β)2 = γx + µ (similarly when
λ1 6= 0, λ2 = 0). If λ1 = λ2 = 0, then 2g 0 x0 + 2f 0 y 0 + c0 = 0.

Proposition 1. Consider the quadratic F (x, y) = ax2 + 2hxy + by 2 + 2gx + 2f y + c, for a, b, c, g, f, h ∈ R.

If (a, b, h) 6= (0, 0, 0) then the conic F (x, y) = 0 can be classified as follows.

λ1 λ2 µ conic
+ve +ve +ve ellipse
+ve, -ve -ve, +ve non-zero hyperbola
+ve +ve -ve no real curve exists
+ve +ve 0 single point
-ve -ve 0 single point
+ve, -ve -ve, +ve 0 pair of straight lines
0 ±ve parabola (γ 6= 0) or single line (γ = 0 =
µ) or pair of parallel lines (µλ2 > 0) or two
imaginary lines (µλ2 < 0)
±ve 0 similar as above
0 0 single straight line

√
Example 2. Identify the conic 3x2 − 2xy + 3y 2 − 8 2x + 10 = 0

1
 √
     
3 −1 x 3 −1
Solution: The matrix form is (x, y) +(−8 2, 0) +10 = 0. Eigenvalues of A =
−1 3 y! −1 3
1
√ −1
√
 
2 2 T x
are 2, 4. The corresponding orthogonal matrix P = √1 √1 such that P AP = D. Write =
2 2
y
x0√−y 0
!
√
 0    0
x 2 0 x
P , we get (x0 , y 0 ) 2
+ (−8 2, 0) x0 +y 0 + 10 = 0. By solving (expanding and making
y0 0 4 y0 √
2
complete square), the reduced form is 2(x0 − 2)2 + 4(y 0 + 1)2 = 2, which represents an ellipse centered at
(2, −1).

Classification of Surfaces
A quadric surface is a surface in R3 described by a polynomial of degree 2 in three variables. A general
equation of a surface is given by F (x, y,z) = ax2 + by
2
 +
2
cz + 2hxy + 2gxz  + 2f yz + 2lx + 2my
+ 2nz +q.
a h g x x a h g
The matrix form F (x, y, z) = (x, y, z) g b f  y  + (2l, 2m, 2n) y  + q. Let A = g b f 
g f c z z g f c
and λ1 , λ2 , λ3 be eigenvalues of A. Proceeding in a similar way as in the case of conics in R2 , we get
F (x0 , y 0 , z 0 ) = λ1 x02 + λ2 y 02 + λ3 z 0 2 + l0 x + m0 y + n0 z + q 0 . If λ1 , λ2 , λ3 6= 0, the equation can be reduced to
the form λ1 (x0 + α)2 + λ2 (y 0 + β 2 ) + λ3 (z 0 + γ)2 = µ. The classification of surfaces in R3 is as follows: If

λ1 λ2 λ3 µ conic
+ve +ve +ve +ve ellipsoid
+ve +ve -ve +ve hyperboloid of one sheet
+ve -ve -ve +ve hyperboloid of two sheet
+ve +ve +ve 0 single point
-ve -ve -ve 0 single point
+ve +ve -ve 0 cone
+ve -ve -ve 0 cone
+ve +ve 0 +ve with coefficient of z is elliptical cylinder
zero
+ve +ve 0 +ve with coefficient of z is elliptical paraboloid
non-zero
+ve -ve 0 +ve with coefficient of z is hyperbolic cylinder
zero
+ve -ve 0 +ve with coefficient of z is hyperbolic paraboloid
non-zero

two of the eigenvalues are zero, then the surface is either a parabolic cylinder or a pair planes or a singe
plane.
2 2 2
Determine the following surfaceF (x, y, z)
 = 0, where
  F (x, y, z) = 2x + 2y + 2z + 2xy + 2xz + 2yz +
2 1 1 2
4x + 2y + 4z + 2. Here A = 1 2 1 , b = 1 and q = 2. The eigenvalues of A are 4,1,1 and
  
  1 1 2 2
√1 √1 √1
 √13 −1
2 6
√1 
P = √ such that P T AP = D, where D = diag(4, 1, 1). Hence, F (x, y, z) = 0 reduces to

 3 2 6
√1 −2
3
0 √
6

2
  2  2  2  2  2
x+y+z x−y x+y−2z 4(x+y+z)+5 x−y+1
4 √
3
+ +√
2
= −(4x + 2y + 4z + 2). Further, we get 4
√
6
√
4 3
+ √+2
 2
x+y−2z−1
√
6
= 9/12. Equivalently, the surface can be written as 4(x0 +5/4)2 +1(y 0 +1)2 +1(z 0 −1)2 = 9/12,
where x0 = x+y+z
√
3
, y 0 = x−y
√ , z 0 = x+y−2z
2
√
6
. Thus, the given equation describes an ellipsoid and the principal
axes are 4(x + y + z) = −5; x − y = 1 and x + y − 2z = 1.