Eccentricity is a parameter associated with conic sections that describes the shape of the curve. It determines how much the conic section deviates from being circular.
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Eccentricity ($e$) is defined as the ratio of the distance from any point on the conic section to its focus and the perpendicular distance from that point to the nearest directrix.
For a circle, $e = 0$.
For an ellipse, $0 < e < 1$.
For a parabola, $e = 1$.
For a hyperbola, $e > 1$.
Review Questions
What is the eccentricity of a circle?
How does eccentricity differentiate between an ellipse and a hyperbola?
Calculate the eccentricity of a conic section given its geometric properties.