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Help with Ellipse Question

by darshanpatel
Tags: ellipse
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Mar8-12, 05:55 PM
P: 139

An art museum worker leaves an 8-foot-tall painting leaning against a wall. Later, the top of that painting slides down the wall, and the painting falls to the floor. Use the diagram to find an equation of the path of the point (x,y) as the painting falls.

2. Relevant equations


3. The attempt at a solution

All work is shown in the picture, but I am not sure if it is right or wrong....

It shows (0,y), (0,x) and shows that the painting is 6ft tall plus 2ft tall...

I still don't quite understand why and how the answer comes down to this...
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Mar8-12, 11:47 PM
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LCKurtz's Avatar
P: 7,562
Your picture is impossible. The point (2,6) cannot possibly be on the ladder as you have pictured. The little upper triangle has both hypotenuse = 2 and leg = 2 as you have the picture drawn.

You haven't stated the problem clearly either. What does (x,y) represent in the first place?

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