If p and p ' denote the lengths of the perpendicular from a focus and the centre of an ellipse with…

If p and p' denote the lengths of the perpendicular from a focus and the centre of an ellipse with semi-major axis of length a, respectively, on a tangent to the ellipse and r denotes the focal distance of the point, then
  1. ap=rp'
  2. rp=ap'
  3. ap=rp'+1
  4. ap'+rp=1

Solution

Let the ellipse be x2a2+y2b2=1

and let xcosθa+ysinθb=1  ...(i)

be a tangent to it at point (acosθ,bsinθ). Then, p= length of the perpendicular from S(ae, 0) on Eq. (i)

p=ecosθ-1cos2θa2+sin2θb2

p'= length of the perpendicular from O(0,0) on Eq. (i)

 p'=1cos2θa2+sin2θb2

and r=aecosθ-a

Clearly, rp'=ap

Asked in: BITSAT 2017

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