Tangent Distances to the Foci

7/10Extremaconic sectionsSymmetry

Problem

The ellipse Γ:x2a2+y2b2=1\Gamma:\dfrac{x^2}{a^2}+\dfrac{y^2}{b^2}=1 (a>b>0a>b>0) has foci F1(c,0)F_1(-c,0) and F2(c,0)F_2(c,0). A line ll is tangent to Γ\Gamma, and d1d_1, d2d_2 denote the distances from F1F_1, F2F_2 to ll.

1. Prove that d1d2=b2d_1\cdot d_2=b^2. 2. Prove that 2bd1+d22a2b\leqslant d_1+d_2\leqslant 2a. 3. Prove that aca+cd1d2a+cac\dfrac{a-c}{a+c}\leqslant\dfrac{d_1}{d_2}\leqslant\dfrac{a+c}{a-c}.

Answer

Solution

Difficulty7/10
TopicsExtrema, conic sections, Symmetry

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