Directrices of a Horizontal Ellipse

Rarely Tested

Directrices of a Horizontal Ellipse

For:

$$\frac{x^2}{a^2}+\frac{y^2}{b^2}=1$$

the directrices are:

$$x=\pm\frac{a}{e}$$

Usage

- Used in focus-directrix and eccentricity problems.

Question 1

Let a hyperbola $$H$$ be given by $$\frac{x^2}{4}-y^2=1$$ and an ellipse $$E$$ be confocal with $$H$$. The eccentricity of $$E$$ is the reciprocal of the eccentricity of $$H$$. Let $$P$$ be the point of intersection of $$H$$ and $$E$$ in the first quadrant. If the tangent to the ellipse $$E$$ at $$P$$ meets the directrix of $$E$$ corresponding to its positive focus at point $$Q$$, then the area of $$\triangle OPQ$$ (where $$O$$ is the origin) is:

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