Complete the square for general quadratic conic equations; identify and graph circles, ellipses, parabolas, or hyperbolas.
Complete squares and extract ellipse axes
Problem
Complete the squares and normalize \(4x^2~+~9y^2~-~8x~+~36y~=~104\). Give the ellipse's standard form, center, semiaxis lengths, major-axis orientation, and major and minor axis lengths.
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What this problem is really about
Factor each quadratic coefficient before completing the square inside its variable group, then move the compensating constants carefully. Normalize the completed equation so the right side is one. The binomial shifts give the center, square roots of the denominators give semiaxis lengths, and the larger denominator identifies the major-axis direction; double the semiaxes only when full axis lengths are requested.
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