How much of GMA in terms of graphing?

[pi]

How much should we know about the GMA graphs: hyperbola, ellipse, circle and trig graphs (these are of particular importance I already know), for spesh next year?

Looking a few things up on Wikipedia, I got pretty freaked out by this diagram:


I understand point P (used in loci), the asymptotes, end points (a and -a), center (C) and focal points (also used in loci)... Anything else? Do we need to know directrices, eccentricities, etc.?

Also for the ellipse:


All I get here is the center (C), key points (a, -a, b, -b) and P (I don't know much on this one, fail here obviously...). What else should I know from this for next year?


Thanks in advance.

[dptjandra]

I would say ellipses and hyperbola are tested rather scarcely in spesh compared to the extent to which you learn them in general maths.  You need to know how to sketch them (which can then be applied to imaginary numbers and parametrics), but the straight vertical lines with the focal point values are not necessary - interesting, but not necessary   [so not that stuff with e, F1, P, etc. in detail, I don't believe]

Probably good to have some intuitive understand the geometric significance of some of the graphs (that is, the sum of various values - and hence distances to a certain point - must add up to a certain constant).  If you didn't do this in GMA, you'll probs see it briefly in spesh maths.

Don't stress!

Trig is basically to the extent done in spesh, GMA and methods.

[pi]

^^ Thanks

[taiga]

Don't go to wikipedia for maths help, complicates everything.

Hyperbolas, circles, and ellipses are stuff that comes up the most