The latus rectum of a parabola is the line segment perpendicular to the axis of symmetry that passes through the focus and whose endpoints lie on the parabola. It is used to describe certain geometric properties of parabolas.
5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test
The length of the latus rectum of a parabola $y^2 = 4ax$ is $4a$.
For a parabola $x^2 = 4ay$, the length of the latus rectum is also $4a$.
The endpoints of the latus rectum are equidistant from the focus of the parabola.
The latus rectum can be used to determine other important features, such as directrix and vertex relationships in parabolas.
In terms of coordinates, if the equation of a parabola is $y^2 = 4ax$, then its focus is $(a,0)$ and its latus rectum endpoints are $(a, 2a)$ and $(a, -2a)$.