APPENDIX E Rotation and the General Second-Degree Equation

Rotation of Axes Invariants Under Rotation

y y

Rotation of Axes
In Section 9.1, you learned that equations of conics with axes parallel to one of the coordinate axes can be written in the general form
x

Ax2 Cy2 Dx Ey F 0.

Horizontal or vertical axes

Here you will study the equations of conics whose axes are rotated so that they are not parallel to the x-axis or the y-axis. The general equation for such conics contains an xy-term. Ax2 Bxy Cy2 Dx Ey F 0
Equation in xy-plane

After rotation of the x- and y-axes counterclockwise through an angle , the rotated axes are denoted as the x-axis and y-axis. Figure E.1

To eliminate this xy-term, you can use a procedure called rotation of axes. You want to rotate the x- and y-axes until they are parallel to the axes of the conic. (The rotated axes are denoted as the x-axis and the y-axis, as shown in Figure E.1.) After the rotation has been accomplished, the equation of the conic in the new xy-plane will have the form A x 2 C y 2 Dx Ey F 0.
Equation in xy-plane

Because this equation has no xy-term, you can obtain a standard form by completing the square. The following theorem identifies how much to rotate the axes to eliminate an xy-term and also the equations for determining the new coefficients A, C, D, E, and F.

THEOREM A.1

Rotation of Axes

The general equation of the conic Ax2 Bxy Cy2 Dx Ey F 0, where B

2

0, can be rewritten as

A x C y 2 Dx Ey F 0 by rotating the coordinate axes through an angle , where cot 2

C .

The coefficients of the new equation are obtained by making the substitutions x x cos y sin y x sin y cos . E1

E2

APPENDIX E

Rotation and the General Second-Degree Equation

P = (x, y)

To discover how the coordinates in the xy-system are related to the coordinates in the xy-system, choose a point P x, y in the original system and attempt to find its coordinates x, y in the rotated system. In either system, the distance r between the point P and the origin is the same, and thus the equations for x, y, x, and y are those given in Figure E.2. Using the formulas for the sine and cosine of the difference of two angles, you obtain x r cos r cos cos sin sin r cos cos r sin sin x cos y sin y r sin r sin cos cos sin r sin cos r cos sin y cos x sin . Solving this system for x and y yields x x cos y sin and y x sin y cos .

Proof

Original: x r cos y r sin

y y

P = (x , y )

Finally, by substituting these values for x and y into the original equation and collecting terms, you obtain the following. A A cos2 B cos sin C sin2
x

C A sin2 B cos sin C cos2 D D cos E sin

x

E D sin E cos F F Now, in order to eliminate the xy-term, you must select such that B 0, as follows. B 2C A sin cos Bcos2 sin2 C A sin 2 B cos 2 Bsin 2 A cot 2 0, C B sin 2 0

Rotated: x r cos y r sin

Figure E.2

If B 0, no rotation is necessary, because the xy-term is not present in the original equation. If B 0, the only way to make B 0 is to let cot 2 AC , B B 0.

Thus, you have established the desired results.

APPENDIX E

Rotation and the General Second-Degree Equation

E3

EXAMPLE 1

Rotation of a Hyperbola

Write the equation xy 1 0 in standard form.

Solution

Because A 0, B 1, and C 0, you have for 0 < < 2 AC 0 B 2

cot 2
)x ) 2 )y )2 =1 2 ) 2) ) 2) 2
y

. 4

The equation in the xy-system is obtained by making the following substitutions. x x cos x y 2 2 y sin x y 2 4 4 2 2 x y 2 2 y cos x y 2 4 4 2 2

y x sin
x 1 2

1 1

Substituting these expressions into the equation xy 1 0 produces

xy 1 = 0

Vertices: 2, 0, 2, 0 in xy-system 1, 1, 1, 1 in xy-system Figure E.3

This is the equation of a hyperbola centered at the origin with vertices at 2, 0 in the xy-system, as shown in Figure E.3. EXAMPLE 2 Rotation of an Ellipse

x y x y 10 2 2 x 2 y 2 10 2 x 2 y 2 2 2 1. 2 2

Standard form

Sketch the graph of 7x2 63xy 13y2 16 0.

y y 2

Solution
)x )
2

Because A 7, B 63, and C 13, you have for 0 < < 2 1 A C 7 13 3 B 63

)2) 2

)y ) )1) 2

=1
x

cot 2

. 6

Therefore, the equation in the xy-system is derived by making the following substitutions.
x

3 3x y 1 y sin x y 6 6 2 2 2 3 1 x 3y y x sin y cos x y 6 6 2 2 2

x x cos

7x 2 6

3xy + 13y 2 16 = 0

Substituting these expressions into the original equation eventually simplifies (after considerable algebra) to 4x 2 16 y 2 16 x 2 y 2 1. 22 12

Vertices: 2, 0, 0, 1 in xy-system 3 in xy-system , 3, 1, 1 2 2

Standard form

Figure E.4

This is the equation of an ellipse centered at the origin with vertices at 2, 0 and 0, 1 in the xy-system, as shown in Figure E.4.

E4

APPENDIX E

Rotation and the General Second-Degree Equation

In writing Examples 1 and 2, we chose the equations such that would be one of the common angles 30, 45, and so forth. Of course, many second-degree equations do not yield such common solutions to the equation cot 2 AC . B

Example 3 illustrates such a case. EXAMPLE 3 Rotation of a Parabola

Sketch the graph of x2 4xy 4y2 55y 1 0.

Solution

Because A 1, B 4, and C 4, you have AC 14 3 . B 4 4 3 cot2 1 4 2 cot 4 cot2 6 cot 4 0

cot 2
5 1

The trigonometric identity cot 2 cot2 12 cot produces cot 2

from which you can obtain the equation 6 cot 4 cot2 4

Figure E.5

2 cot 42 cot 1 0.
Considering 0 < < 2, it follows that 2 cot 4. Thus,
x 2 4xy + 4y 2 + 5 5y + 1 = 0
y 2 y

cot 2

26.6.

From the triangle in Figure E.5, you can obtain sin 15 and cos 25. Consequently, you can write the following.

26.6
x

5 y 5 5 1 2 x 2y y x sin y cos x y 5 5 5
x x cos y sin x 2 1 Substituting these expressions into the original equation produces 2x y 2 2x y 4 5 5 x 2y 55 10 5

2x y

1 2

x 2y x 2y 4 5 5

which simplifies to
( y + 1)2 = 4 1 x 4 4 5

( ((

5 y 2 5x 10y 1 0. By completing the square, you can obtain the standard form 5 y 12 5x 4 1 4 4 x 5 .

4 Vertex: , 1 in xy-system 5 13 6 , in xy-system 55 55

y 12 4

Standard form

Figure E.6

The graph of the equation is a parabola with its vertex at 4 5 , 1 and its axis parallel to the x-axis in the xy-system, as shown in Figure E.6.

APPENDIX E

Rotation and the General Second-Degree Equation

E5

Invariants Under Rotation

In Theorem A.1, note that the constant term F F is the same in both equations. Because of this, F is said to be invariant under rotation. Theorem A.2 lists some other rotation invariants. The proof of this theorem is left as an exercise (see Exercise 34). THEOREM A.2 Rotation Invariants

The rotation of coordinate axes through an angle that transforms the equation Ax2 Bxy Cy2 Dx Ey F 0 into the form A x 2 C y 2 Dx Ey F 0 has the following rotation invariants. 1. F F 2. A C A C 3. B2 4AC B 2 4AC You can use this theorem to classify the graph of a second-degree equation with an xy-term in much the same way you do for a second-degree equation without an xyterm. Note that because B 0, the invariant B2 4AC reduces to B2 4 AC 4 AC
Discriminant

which is called the discriminant of the equation Ax2 Bxy Cy2 Dx Ey F 0. Because the sign of AC determines the type of graph for the equation A x 2 C y 2 Dx Ey F 0 the sign of B2 4AC must determine the type of graph for the original equation. This result is stated in Theorem A.3.

THEOREM A.3

Classification of Conics by the Discriminant

The graph of the equation Ax2 Bxy Cy2 Dx Ey F 0 is, except in degenerate cases, determined by its discriminant as follows. 1. Ellipse or circle 2. Parabola 3. Hyperbola B2 4AC < 0 B2 4AC 0 B2 4AC > 0

E6

APPENDIX E

Rotation and the General Second-Degree Equation

EXAMPLE 4

Using the Discriminant

Classify the graph of each of the following equations. a. 4xy 9 0 c. x2 6xy 9y2 2y 1 0
Solution

b. 2x2 3xy 2y2 2x 0 d. 3x2 8xy 4y2 7 0

a. The graph is a hyperbola because B2 4AC 16 0 > 0. b. The graph is a circle or an ellipse because B2 4AC 9 16 < 0. c. The graph is a parabola because B2 4AC 36 36 0. d. The graph is a hyperbola because B2 4AC 64 48 > 0.

EXERCISES FOR APPENDIX E

In Exercises 112, rotate the axes to eliminate the xy-term. Give the resulting equation and sketch its graph showing both sets of axes. 1. xy 1 0 2. xy 4 0 3. x2 10xy y2 10 4. xy x 2y 3 0 5. xy 2y 4x 0 6. 13x2 63xy 7y2 16 0 7. 9. 10. 11. 12. 5x2 3x2 9x2 9x2 2xy 5y2 12 0 y2 2x 23y 0 60x 80y 100 0 90x 130y 0 80x 60y 0 In Exercises 2732, sketch the graph (if possible) of the degenerate conic. 27. y2 4x2 0 28. x2 y2 2x 6y 10 0 29. x2 2xy y2 1 0 30. x2 10xy y2 0 31. x 2y 1x 2y 3 0 32. 2x y 32 0 33. Show that the equation x2 y2 r 2 is invariant under rotation of axes. 34. Prove Theorem A.2. 8. 2x2 3xy 2y2 10 0 23xy 24xy 24xy 24xy 16x2 9y2 In Exercises 1926, use the discriminant to determine whether the graph of the equation is a parabola, an ellipse, or a hyperbola. 19. 16x2 24xy 9y2 30x 40y 0 20. x2 4xy 2y2 6 0 21. 13x2 8xy 7y2 45 0 22. 2x2 4xy 5y2 3x 4y 20 0 23. x2 6xy 5y2 4x 22 0 24. 36x2 60xy 25y2 9y 0 25. x2 4xy 4y2 5x y 3 0 26. x2 xy 4y2 x y 4 0

16y2 16y2

In Exercises 1318, use a graphing utility to graph the conic. Determine the angle through which the axes are rotated. Explain how you used the utility to obtain the graph. 13. x2 xy y2 10 14. x2 4xy 2y2 6 15. 17x2 32xy 7y2 75 16. 18. 40x2 4x2 36xy 25y2 52 17. 32x2 50xy 7y2 52 12xy 9y2

413 12x 613 8y 91

The symbol indicates an exercise in which you are instructed to use graphing technology or a symbolic computer algebra system. The solutions of other exercises may also be facilitated by use of appropriate technology.