HYPERBOLA

Hyperbolas don't come up much at least not that I've noticed in other math
classes, but if you're covering conics, you'll need to know their basics. An hyperbola
looks sort of like two mirrored parabolas, with the two "halves" being called
"branches". Like an ellipse, an hyperbola has two foci and two vertices; unlike an
ellipse, the foci in an hyperbola are further from the hyperbola's center than are its
vertices:

The hyperbola is centered on a point (h, k), which is the "center" of the hyperbola.
The point on each branch closest to the center is that branch's "vertex". The
vertices are some fixed distance a from the center. The line going from one vertex,
through the center, and ending at the other vertex is called the "transverse" axis.
The "foci" of an hyperbola are "inside" each branch, and each focus is located some
fixed distance c from the center. (This
ADVERTISEMENT
means that a < c for hyperbolas.) The
values of a and c will vary from one
hyperbola to another, but they will be
fixed values for any given hyperbola.
For any point on an ellipse, the sum of
the distances from that point to each of
the foci is some fixed value; for any
point on an hyperbola, it's
the difference of the distances from the
two foci that is fixed. Looking at the
graph above and letting "the point" be
one of the vertices, this fixed distance
must be (the distance to the further

focus) less (the distance to the nearer focus), or (a + c) (c a) = 2a. This fixeddifference property can used for determining locations: If two beacons are placed in
known and fixed positions, the difference in the times at which their signals are
received by, say, a ship at sea can tell the crew where they are.
As with ellipses, there is a relationship betweena, b, and c, and, as with ellipses, the
computations are long and painful. So trust me that, for hyperbolas (where a < c),
the relationship is c2 a2 = b2 or, which means the same thing, c2= b2 + a2. (Yes, the
Pythagorean Theorem is used to prove this relationship. Yes, these are the same
letters as are used in the Pythagorean Theorem. No, this is not the same thing as
the Pythagorean Theorem. Yes, this is very confusing. Just memorize it, and move
on.)
When the transverse
axis is horizontal (in
other words, when
the center, foci, and
vertices line up side
by side, parallel to
the x-axis), then
the a2 goes with
thex part of the
hyperbola's equation,
and the y part is
subtracted.

When the transverse

axis is vertical (in
other words, when
the center, foci, and
vertices line up above
and below each other,
parallel to the y-axis),
then thea2 goes with
the y part of the
hyperbola's equation,
and the x part is
subtracted.
In "conics" form, an hyperbola's equation is always "=1".
The value of b gives the "height" of the "fundamental box" for the hyperbola
(marked in grey in the first picture above), and 2b is the length of the "conjugate"

axis. This information doesn't help you graph hyperbolas, though. Copyright
Elizabeth Stapel 2010-2011 All Rights Reserved
For reasons you'll learn in calculus, the graph of an hyperbola gets fairly flat and
straight when it gets far away from its center. If you "zoom out" from the graph, it
will look very much like an "X", with maybe a little curviness near the middle. These
"nearly straight" parts get very close to what are called the "asymptotes" of the
hyperbola. For an hyperbola centered at (h, k) and having fixed values a andb, the
asymptotes are given by the following equations:
hyperbolas' graphs

asymptotes' equations

Note that the only difference in the asymptote equations above is in the slopes of
the straight lines: Ifa2 is the denominator for the x part of the hyperbola's equation,
then a is still in the denominator in the slope of the asymptotes' equations;
if a2 goes with the y part of the hyperbola's equation, then a goes in the numerator
of the slope in the asymptotes' equations.
Hyperbolas can be fairly "straight" or else pretty "bendy":
hyperbola with an
eccentricity of about 1.05

hyperbola with an
eccentricity of about 7.6

The measure of the amount of curvature is the "eccentricity" e, where e = c/a. Since
the foci are further from the center of an hyperbola than are the vertices
(so c > a for hyperbolas), then e > 1. Bigger values of e correspond to the
"straighter" types of hyperbolas, while values closer to 1correspond to hyperbolas
whose graphs curve quickly away from their centers.
GENERAL FORM OF THE EQUATION OF A HYPERBOLA
The general form of the equation of a horizontally aligned hyperbola is:

The

term is subtracted from the

term.

(h,k) is the center of the horizontally aligned hyperbola.

a is the distance from the center of the hyperbola to each vertex of the hyperbola.
Each vertex of the hyperbola lies on the transverse axis of the hyperbola.
The transverse axis of a horizontally aligned hyperbola is horizontal.
There is an invisible box created between the vertices of the horizontally aligned
hyperbola.
2*a is the width of this invisible box.
2*b is the height of this invisible box.
2*c is the length of the diagonal of this invisible box.
The box is not part of the hyperbola. It is a construct used to show the relationships
between a, b, and c.
c is also the distance between each foci of the hyperbola and the center of the
hyperbola.

c is not shown in the equation of the hyperbola. It is, however, determined by the
equation

You will see how these parts interact with each other when we show you the picture
of a horizontally aligned hyperbola.
The general form of the equation of a vertically aligned hyperbola is:

The

term is subtracted from the

term.

Notice that the a and the b terms are now reversed.

In a horizontally aligned hyperbola, the

In a vertically aligned hyperbola, the

In other words, the

term is underneath the

term is underneath the

term.

term.

term is always part of the positive term in the equation.

A word of caution here. Some tutorials will show it differently. They will show the
term always under the
term.

term, and the

term always under the

In this lesson, and others that use the same approach, the
the positive term in the equation of the hyperbola, while the

term is always part of

term is always part

of the negative term in the equation of the hyperbola. This makes the

term

always the distance between the vertices of the hyperbola and the center of the
hyperbola.
(h,k) is the center of the vertically aligned hyperbola.
a is the distance from the center of the hyperbola to each vertex of the hyperbola.
Each vertex of the hyperbola lies on the transverse axis of the hyperbola.
The transverse axis of a vertically aligned hyperbola is vertical.
There is an invisible box created between the vertices of the vertically aligned
hyperbola.
2*a is the height of this invisible box.
2*b is the width of this invisible box.
2*c is the length of the diagonal of this invisible box.
The box is not part of the hyperbola. It is a construct used to show the relationships
between a, b, and c.
c is also the distance between each foci of the hyperbola and the center of the
hyperbola.
c is not shown in the equation of the hyperbola. It is, however, determined by the
equation

You will see how these parts relate to each other when we show you the picture of a
vertically aligned hyperbola.
GRAPH OF A HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED HYPERBOLA

We will use the equation

aligned hyperbola.

to show you the graph of a horizontally

This hyperbola is horizontally aligned because the

from the

term.

To graph this equation, we have to solve for y.

After solving for y, the equation of the hyperbola

term is being subtracted

becomes

and

The graph of our horizontally aligned hyperbola is shown below:

ASYMPTOTES OF A HYPERBOLA

Every hyperbola has asymptotes.

The asymptotes of a horizontally aligned hyperbola are given by the equation:

and
The asymptotes of a vertically aligned hyperbola are given by the equation:

and
The asymptote is a straight line that the curve of the hyperbola approaches but
never reaches.
ASYMPTOTE OF OUR HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED HYPERBOLA
For our horizontally aligned hyperbola that we just graphed, the equation of the
asymptote would be calculated as follows:
The equation of our horizontally aligned hyperbola is:

The general form of this equation is:

In our equation:
a=3
b=4
h=5
k = -3
The center of our hyperbola is at (h,k) = (5,-3).

The equation for the asymptotes of a horizontally aligned hyperbola is:

and
Substituting 3 for a, 4 for b, and 5 for h, we get:

and
Since we know that these equations have to go through the center of our hyperbola,
we replace x with 5 and y with -3 and solve for k.
Our equations for the asymptote of our hyperbola become:

and
Solving for k, we get:
k = -3 in both equations.
Our equations for the asymptotes of our hyperbola become:

and
The graph of our hyperbola with the asymptotes for it is shown below:

A more distant view of this graph is shown below:

In the more distant view, you can see that the curve of the hyperbola approaches
the asymptotes as they extend further out.
The curve of the hyperbola will get closer and closer to the asymptotes but will
never touch them.

PICTURE OF OUR HORIZONTALLY ALIGNED HYPERBOLA

A picture of the graph of our horizontally aligned hyperbola is shown below:

F1 and
F2 are
the foci
of the
hyperbo
la.
V1 and
V2 are
the
vertices
of the
hyperbo
la.
C is the
center
of the
hyperbo
la.
a is the
distanc
e from
the
center
of the
hyperbo
la to
each
vertex
of the
hyperbo
la.
This
would
be from
C to V1,
and
from C

to V2.
b is the
distanc
e from
the
transver
se axis
to the
top of
the box.
This
would
be from
V1 to
P1, V2
to P2,
V1 to
P3, and
V2 to
P4.
c is the
distanc
e from
the
center
of the
hyperbo
la to
each
focus of
the
hyperbo
la.
This
would
be from
C to F1,
and
from C
to F2.
a is half

the
width of
the box.
b is half
the
height
of the
box.
c is half
the
length
of the
diagona
l of the
box.

In the above picture, the asymptotes are the straight lines and the hyperbola is the
curved lines.
Note that the diagonals of the box lie on the same line as the asymptotes of the
hyperbola.
The transverse axis is the horizontal line on which the foci and vertices of the
hyperbola lie.
The box is not part of the hyperbola. It is a construct used to show the relationship
between the variables a, b, and c, and the asymptotes of the hyperbola.
FORMULA FOR THE DISTANCE FROM THE CENTER OF THE HYPERBOLA TO EACH
FOCUS OF THE HYPERBOLA
c is the distance from the center of the hyperbola to each focus of the hyperbola.
c is also half the length of the diagonal of the box.
If you look at the picture, you will see that the length of a is equal to the line
segment from C to V2.
You will also see that the length of b is equal to the line segment from V2 to P2.
You will also see that the length of c is equal to the line segment from C to P2.
These 3 line segments form a right triangle from C to P2 to V2.
c is the length of the hypotenuse of this right triangle (line segment CP2).

a is the length of the horizontal leg of this right triangle (line segment CV2)
b is the length of the vertical leg of this right triangle (line segment V2P2).
By the Pythagorean Formula:

That is the relationship between a, b, and c.

The equation for the hyperbola does not show c, but c can be calculated by using
the formula:

which then becomes:

That is how we determined that the length of c was equal to 5.

PROPERTY OF A HYPERBOLA
One of the distinguishing properties of a hyperbola is that the absolute value of the
difference of the distance between any point on the hyperbola and the two foci of
the hyperbola will be a constant.
That constant will be 2 times a.
In our horizontally aligned hyperbola, 2 * a = 6.
In algebraic terms, assuming we picked points P5 and P6 anywhere on the surface
of the hyperbola, and assuming our focal points are at F1 and F2, then:
|(P5-F1) - (P5-F2)| = |(P6-F1) - (P6-F2)| = 6
We will pick 2 points at random and calculate each distance to show that they are
the same and that they are both equal to 2*a which is the distance between the
vertices of the hyperbola.

d1 = distance between P5 and F1

d2 = distance between P5 and F2
P5 is at the point (10,2.33333333)
F1 is at the point (0,-3)
F2 is at the point (10,-3)
d1 =
=

=
= 11.33333333

d2 =

=
= 5.33333333
|d1-d2| = |11.33333333 - 5.33333333| = |6| = 6
d3 = distance between P6 and F1
d4 = distance between P6 and F2
P6 is at the point (-2,-11.432740427)
F1 is at the point (0,-3)
F2 is at the point (10,-3)
d3 =
=

= 8.66666667

d4 =
=
=
|d3-d4| = |8.66666667 - 14.66666667| = |-6| = 6

= 14.66666667

A picture of these points and their relationship to each other is shown below:
P5 is at the top right, P6 is at the bottom left, F1 is at the middle left, and F2 is at
the middle right.

GRAPH OF A VERTICALLY ALIGNED HYPERBOLA

The general equation of a vertically aligned hyperbola is shown below:

We will use the equation

aligned hyperbola.

to show you the graph of a vertically

Notice that all we did was take our horizontally aligned hyperbola and switched the

positions of each term. The

term is now the negative term.

The

term is now equal to 16.

The

term is now equal to 9.

Note that the

term is now the positive term, and the

term is always associated with the positive term in the equation.

In this case, the positive term is equal to

This hyperbola is vertically aligned because the

from the

which became

term is being subtracted

term.

To graph this equation, we have to solve for y.

After solving for y, the equation of the hyperbola

becomes

and

The graph of our vertically aligned hyperbola is shown below:

ASYMPTOTES OF A HYPERBOLA
The asymptotes of a horizontally aligned hyperbola are given by the equation:

and
The asymptotes of a vertically aligned hyperbola are given by the equation:

and

ASYMPTOTE OF OUR VERTICALLY ALIGNED HYPERBOLA

For our vertically aligned hyperbola that we just graphed, the equation of the
asymptote would be calculated as follows:
The equation of our vertically aligned hyperbola is:

The general form of this equation is:

In our equation:
a=4
b=3
h=5
k = -3
The center of our hyperbola is at (h,k) = (5,-3).
The equation for the asymptotes of a vertically aligned hyperbola is:

and
Substituting 4 for a, 3 for b, and 5 for h, we get:

and
Since we know that these equations have to go through the center of the graph, we
replace x with 5 and y with -3 and solve for k.
Our equations for the asymptote of our hyperbola become:

and
Solving for k, we get:
k = -3 in both equations.
Our equations for the asymptotes of our hyperbola become:

and
The graph of our hyperbola with the asymptotes for it is shown below:

A more distant view of this graph is shown below:

In the more distant view, you can see that the curve of the hyperbola approaches
the asymptotes as they extend further out.
The curve of the hyperbola will get closer and closer to the asymptotes but will
never touch them.

PICTURE OF OUR VERTICALLY ALIGNED HYPERBOLA

A picture of the graph of our vertically aligned hyperbola is shown below:

F1 and
F2 are
the foci
of the
hyperbo
la.
V1 and
V2 are
the
vertices
of the
hyperbo
la.
C is the
center
of the
hyperbo
la.
a is the
distanc
e from
the
center
of the
hyperbo
la to
each
vertex
of the
hyperbo
la.
This
would
be from
C to V1,
and
from C
to V2.
b is the
distanc
e from

the
transver
se axis
to the
sides of
the box.
This
would
be from
V1 to
P1, V1
to P2,
V2 to
P3, and
V2 to
P4.
c is the
distanc
e from
the
center
of the
hyperbo
la to
each
focus of
the
hyperbo
la.
This
would
be from
C to F1,
and
from C
to F2.
a is half
the
height
of the
box.
b is half

the
width of
the box.
c is half
the
length
of the
diagona
l of the
box.

In the above picture, the asymptotes are the straight lines and the hyperbola is the
curved lines.
Note that the diagonals of the box lie on the same line as the asymptotes of the
hyperbola.
The transverse axis is the vertical line on which the foci and vertices of the
hyperbola lie.
The box is not part of the hyperbola. It is a construct used to show the relationship
between the variables a, b, and c, and the asymptotes of the hyperbola.
FORMULA FOR THE DISTANCE FROM THE CENTER OF THE HYPERBOLA TO EACH
FOCUS OF THE HYPERBOLA
c is the distance from the center of the hyperbola to each focus of the hyperbola.
c is also half the length of the diagonal of the box.
If you look at the picture, you will see that the length of a is equal to the line
segment from C to V2.
You will also see that the length of b is equal to the line segment from V2 to P4.
You will also see that the length of c is equal to the line segment from C to P4.
These 3 line segments form a right triangle from C to P4 to V2.
c is the length of the hypotenuse of this right triangle (line segment CP4).
a is the length of the vertical leg of this right triangle (line segment CV2)
b is the length of the horizonal leg of this right triangle (line segment V2P4).
By the Pythagorean Formula:

That is the relationship between a, b, and c.

The equation for the hyperbola does not show c, but c can be calculated by using
the formula:

which then becomes:

That is how we determined that the length of c was equal to 5.

PROPERTY OF A HYPERBOLA
One of the distinguishing properties of a hyperbola is that the absolute value of the
difference of the distance between any point on the hyperbola and the two foci of
the hyperbola will be a constant.
That constant will be 2 times a.
In our vertically aligned hyperbola, 2 * a = 8.
In algebraic terms, assuming we picked points P5 and P6 anywhere on the surface
of the hyperbola, and assuming our focal points are at F1 and F2, then:
|(P5-F1) - (P5-F2)| = |(P6-F1) - (P6-F2)| = 8
We will pick 2 points at random and calculate each distance to show that they are
the same and that they are both equal to 2*a which is the distance between the
vertices of the hyperbola.
d1 = distance between P5 and F1
d2 = distance between P5 and F2
P5 is at the point (11,5.94427191)
F1 is at the point (5,2)

F2 is at the point (5,-8)

d1 =
=

=
= 7.180339888

d2 =

=
= 15.180339888
|d1-d2| = |7.180339888 - 15.180339888| = |-8| = 8
d3 = distance between P6 and F1
d4 = distance between P6 and F2
P6 is at the point (2,-8.656854249)
F1 is at the point (5,2)
F2 is at the point (5,-8)
d3 =
=
d4 =

=
= 11.071067812
=

=
= 3.071067812
|d3-d4| = |11.071067812 - 3.071067812| = |8| = 8
A picture of these points and their relationship to each other is shown below:
P5 is at the top right, P6 is at the bottom left, F1 is at the middle top, and F2 is at
the middle bottom.

ECCENTRICITY RATIO OF A HYPERBOLA

The eccentricity ratio of a hyperbola is determined by the equation

e will always be greater than 1 in a hyperbola because the foci of the hyperbola are
always a greater distance from each other than the vertices of a hyperbola.
A hyperbola that has a flatter curve is associated with a higher value of the
eccentricity ratio.
A hyperbola that has a sharper curve is associated with a lower value of the
eccentricity ratio.
The following graphs will show you how this works.

GRAPH AND PICTURE OF HYPERBOLA THAT HAS A FLATTER CURVE (ECCENTRICITY

RATIO IS HIGHER)

The graph and picture is based on the equation

and

which makes:

a=3
b = 13
c=

e = c/a =

= 13.34166406.

= 4.447221355.

To graph this equation, solve for y to get:

and
A graph of this equation is shown below:

A picture of the graph of this equation is shown below:

GRAPH AND PICTURE OF HYPERBOLA THAT HAS A SHARPER CURVE (ECCENTRICITY

RATIO IS LOWER)

The graph and picture is based on the equation

and

which makes:

a = 13
b=3
c=

= 13.34166406.

e = c/a = 13.34166406/13 = 1.026281851

To graph this equation, solve for y to get:

and
A graph of this equation is shown below:

The higher e resulted in a hyperbola that had a flatter curve. This means the
branches of the hyperbola curved away from each other at a very slow rate.
The lower e resulted in a hyperbola that had a sharper curve. This means the
branches of the hyperbola curved away from each other at a very high rate.
Questions and Comments may be referred to me via email at
theoptsadc@yahoo.com
You may also check out my website at
http://theo.x10hosting.com