Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Multiplicative "Conic", Tiffany Lundy

Undergraduate Research Conference

Early in their mathematical career, students learn about how ellipses and hyperbolas are formed, their properties, and their applications. In particular, an ellipse is the set of all points in the plane whose combined distance from two fixed locations (foci) is constant. A hyperbola is formed in much the same way, except instead of combining (adding) the distance from the foci, the difference is used. This research begins by examining a new locus of points. The locus of points if formed by taking all points whose distance from two fixed locations when multiplied in constant. The difference discernible types of …