Notes – Hyperbola

The hyperbola can also be defined as a locus (collection) of points satisfying a geometric property and
the definition is similar to that of an ellipse. In an ellipse the sum of the distances between the foci and
a point on the ellipse is constant, but for a hyperbola the difference of the distances between the foci
and a point on the hyperbola is constant.

Definition of Hyperbola. A hyperbola is the set of all points (𝑥, 𝑦) in a plane, the difference of whose
distances from two distinct fixed points (foci) is a positive constant.

The graph of a hyperbola has two disconnected branches. The line through the two foci intersects the
hyperbola at its two vertices. The line segment connecting the vertices is the transverse axis, and the
midpoint of the transverse axis is the center of the hyperbola.

𝑑1 − 𝑑2 is a positive constant

The development of the standard form of the equation of a hyperbola is similar to that of an ellipse, but
the relationship between 𝑎, 𝑏, and 𝑐 is different.

Click here to see the development of the standard form of the equation of a hyperbola with center,
(ℎ, 𝑘); vertices, (ℎ ± 𝑎, 𝑘); and foci, (ℎ ± 𝑐, 𝑘).

Standard Equation of a Hyperbola. The standard form of the equation of a hyperbola with center (ℎ, 𝑘)
is

(𝑥 − ℎ)2 (𝑦 − 𝑘)2
− =1 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙)
𝑎2 𝑏2

(𝑦 − 𝑘)2 (𝑥 − ℎ)2
− =1 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙)
𝑎2 𝑏2

The foci lie on the transverse axis, 𝑐 units from the center, and the vertices lie on the transverse axis, 𝑎
units from the center, with 𝑐 2 = 𝑎2 + 𝑏 2 . If the center is at the origin (0, 0), the equation takes one of
the following forms.

𝑥2 𝑦2
− =1 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 ℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙)
𝑎2 𝑏 2

𝑦2 𝑥2
− =1 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑒 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙)
𝑎2 𝑏 2