How to find the parabola within conic sections

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This instructional math video will teach you about geometry.

In this unit we study the conic sections. These are the curves obtained when a cone is cut by a plane. We find the equations of one of these curves, the parabola, by using an alternative description in terms of points whose distances from a fixed point and a fixed line are equal. We also find the equation of a tangent to a parabola using techniques from calculus, and we use this to prove the reflective property of the parabola.