Skip to main content
OlympiadHQ

Browse · MATH

Print

jmc

algebra senior

Problem

The ellipse and the hyperbola are tangent. Compute
Solution
We try to solve the two equations and simultaneously. To eliminate we can subtract the second equation from the first equation, giving or For the ellipse and hyperbola to be tangent, this equation must have exactly one solution for so its discriminant must be zero: which simplifies to Thus,
Final answer
\frac{12}{13}