Two Questions Name the Standard Conics

You'll learnto name the standard nonrotated conics from two quick questions about their equations.

Four curves, one family, and a classifier you can run in your head. Count the squared terms, then look at the sign between them. It works on the axis-aligned form used here — no xy term, and a real nondegenerate curve — which is where the exam meets these. The center, the radius and which way it opens all come out of standard form, and standard form is reached by paying for every square you complete. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · COUNT · SIGN · COMPLETE THE SQUARE · v4

Unit 4 is not assessed on the AP exam; schools include it where local requirements ask.

count the squares, read the sign, then complete the square

Before you start

What you're looking at

Four curves from one family, drawn one at a time, then a two-question classifier.

The question

How many variables are squared, and what sign sits between them?

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