Reflective Property of Conics
Math: Precalculus: Analytic Geometry (Conics)
9-12
45 Minutes
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
3.0
Lessons
TNS
Reflective Property of Conics
Activity Overview
This lesson involves investigating the properties of basic reflective principles of conics.
Objectives
- Students will be able to state the reflection property for a flat surface in terms of the equality of angle of incidence and angle of reflection and apply it to a curved surface (using the tangent line as a flat surface).
- Students will be able to describe the special distance relationships satisfied by any point on each of the three conic sections (parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola) in terms of their foci and/or directrix.
- Students will be able to describe the reflective (carom) properties of each of the three conic sections (parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola) in terms of their foci and/or directrix.
Vocabulary
- conic sections (parabola, ellipse, hyperbola)
- tangent line
- angle of incidence
- angle of reflection
About the Lesson
This lesson involves investigating the properties of basic reflective principles of conics.
As a result, students will:
- Manipulate the source of the ray and its point of contact with the conic to observe its effect on the reflected ray.
- See the special reflective properties of each conic in terms of foci and/or directrix.
- Consider applications of the reflective properties.

Download Files
Math: Precalculus: Analytic Geometry (Conics)
9-12
45 Minutes
TI-Nspire™ CX series
TI-Nspire™ CX CAS/CX II CAS
3.0
Lessons
TNS
iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
Vernier EasyData,Vernier EasyLink and Vernier EasyTemp are registered trademarks of Vernier Science Education.
Vernier EasyData,Vernier EasyLink and Vernier EasyTemp are registered trademarks of Vernier Science Education.