Activity Description Manipulate different types of conic section equations on a coordinate plane using slider bars. Learn how each constant and coefficient affects the resulting graph. Choose from vertical or horizontal parabola, circle, ellipse, and vertical or horizontal hyperbola.

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Conic Flyer

Place in mathematics curriculum:

This activity can be used to:

• experiment on the graph of a conic section by changing the coefficients and constants
• visualize some of the possible cross sections of an infinite cone

This activity allows the user to experiment with changing constants and coefficients in a conic section. This activity would work well in groups of two to four for about twenty-five to thirty minutes if you use the exploration questions and five minutes per function type otherwise.

Preparations for this activity:

• answer the question "Which is the x-axis and which is the y-axis?"
• generalize the effects of changing the constants or coefficients in the type of conic section the students are studying