An ellipse is a shape somewhat similar to an oval. It could be a more \"round\" oval, close to a circle, or it could be a very long (and thin) oval. Ellipse is one of the conic sections, which means it can be obtained by intersecting a cone with a plane slanted relatively to its base. The shape of the intersection is an ellipse. The equation of an ellipse on a coordinate plane is [(x-x_0)^2/a^2 + (y-y_0)^2/b^2 = 1] Here [(x_0, y_0)] are the coordinates of the center of the ellipse and a and b are the half-lengths of its axis. When a = b = r the ellipse becomes a circle with the radius r. Solution An ellipse is a shape somewhat similar to an oval. It could be a more \"round\" oval, close to a circle, or it could be a very long (and thin) oval. Ellipse is one of the conic sections, which means it can be obtained by intersecting a cone with a plane slanted relatively to its base. The shape of the intersection is an ellipse. The equation of an ellipse on a coordinate plane is [(x-x_0)^2/a^2 + (y-y_0)^2/b^2 = 1] Here [(x_0, y_0)] are the coordinates of the center of the ellipse and a and b are the half-lengths of its axis. When a = b = r the ellipse becomes a circle with the radius r..