SOLUTION: Hello, I am struggling on ellipses and hyperbolas. I need some help on differentiating the two. How can you tell which is which?

Algebra ->  Quadratic-relations-and-conic-sections -> SOLUTION: Hello, I am struggling on ellipses and hyperbolas. I need some help on differentiating the two. How can you tell which is which?      Log On


   

Question 235866: Hello,
I am struggling on ellipses and hyperbolas. I need some help on differentiating the two. How can you tell which is which?
Answer by Alan3354(69443) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
hyperbola has x^2 - y^2
ellipse has x^2 + y^2
(unless there's an xy term)