Expert: Scott A Wilson - 3/20/2010

Question
Hi there. My Algebra 2 class has just finished the "conic" section in our books. I've asked myself numerous times what use a hyperbola would be to anyone, and I've come up short. So my question is: When would anyone use a hyperbola as a practical mechanism?

Answer
Two place I know of are as follows.  The first one is in the study of waves.

When only 1 stone is tossed into a pond, circles appear.  However, when 2 stones are tossed
into a pond, the outward concentric circles that are formed take the path of a hyperbola.
I know, that's a lame excuse to use a hyperbola.

The second one, however, I'm sure we have all used at one point in our life.
In this field, they are used piecwise in the construction of roller coaster.

So there's somewhere to bring up math!  Next time you're on a roller coaster,
make some comment to someone else about the piecewise hyperbolic shape generated
when designing the rollwer coaster.