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Conics Help (1 Viewer)

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hey i have what seems like a pretty easy question.
but i keep getting it wrong
and i dont understand terry lee's working out

the question is :

3x-2y-1=0 is a chord of the ellipse x^2 + 4y^2 = 9. find the co-ordinates of its midpoint

terry lee says 2y = 3x-1
so then he subs it into the ellipse but then he just says x^2 +(3x-1)^2 = 0

why!?
i did the same thing but then when i subbed it in i had x^2 +2(3x-1)^2=9

help please??

thanks in advance
 

Mark576

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x2 + 4y2 = 9 (1)
2y = 3x - 1 (2)

From (2), 4y2 = (3x - 1)2

Substitute this into (1):

x2 + (3x - 1)2 = 9 and solve from there.
 
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thanks
that was pretty stupid of me
but does that mean theres a typo where her says x^2 + (3x - 1)^2=0??
not that it will affect the answer
but im just curious
 
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Affinity

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You don't need to solve the quadratics.. all iis asked for is the sum of the roots divded by 2
 

jkwii

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cos terry lee is sometimes wrong, can't help thaqt.he's not perfect.
 

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