Conic Sections Question 420

Question: A hyperbola passes through the points (3, 2) and (-17, 12) and has its centre at origin and transverse axis is along x-axis. The length of its transverse axis is

Options:

A) 2

B) 4

C) 6

D) None of these

Show Answer

Answer:

Correct Answer: A

Solution:

Let the equation of hyperbola is $ \frac{x^{2}}{a^{2}}-\frac{y^{2}}{b^{2}}=1 $

But it passes through (3, 2)

therefore $ \frac{9}{a^{2}}-\frac{4}{b^{2}}=1 $ ….. (i) Also its passes through (-17, 12)

therefore $ \frac{{{(-17)}^{2}}}{a^{2}}-\frac{{{(12)}^{2}}}{b^{2}}=1 $ …… (ii) Solving these, we get $ a=1 $ and $ b=\sqrt{2} $

Hence length of transverse axis $ =2a=2 $ .