How do you find the center vertices and foci of the ellipse given by the equation 4x² + 6y² = 24?

To find the center, vertices, and foci of the ellipse defined by the equation 4x² + 6y² = 24, we first need to rewrite it in standard form.

1. **Rewrite the Equation:**
We start with the given equation:

4x² + 6y² = 24

Next, we divide each term by 24 to normalize the equation:


\( \frac{4x²}{24} + \frac{6y²}{24} = 1 \

Simplifying further gives us:

\( \frac{x²}{6} + \frac{y²}{4} = 1 \

2. **Identify the Center:**
The standard form of the ellipse is given by:

\( \frac{(x-h)²}{a²} + \frac{(y-k)²}{b²} = 1 \,

where (h, k) is the center. From our equation:

We can identify:

  • h = 0
  • k = 0

Therefore, the center of the ellipse is at the point (0, 0).

3. **Determine the Vertices:**
From our rewritten equation, we can see:

a² = 6 and b² = 4, thus:

a = √6 and b = 2

Since the larger denominator is associated with the x² term, this indicates that the major axis is horizontal. The vertices are located at:

  • (h ± a, k) = (0 ± √6, 0) -> Vertices: ((√6, 0), (-√6, 0))

4. **Locate the Foci:**
The distance of the foci from the center is given by:

c = √(a² – b²).

Substituting our values gives:

c = √(6 – 4) = √2

The foci will be positioned along the major axis, thus:

  • (h ± c, k) = (0 ± √2, 0) -> Foci: ((√2, 0), (-√2, 0))

5. **Summary:**
To summarize:

  • Center: (0, 0)
  • Vertices: (√6, 0) and (-√6, 0)
  • Foci: (√2, 0) and (-√2, 0)

This process outlines how to derive the center, vertices, and foci of the referred ellipse effectively.

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