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Decent Real-World Applications of Conic Sections?

Hi everyone! Im in the tenth grade and am presenting a project to my class. I have to come up with an example of conic sections (i.e. - parabolas, circles, and hyperbolas) used in our daily lives. I found a couple good examples online, such as a suspension bridge, but I still need more info. If you have any other ideas or have any information about how and why the suspension bridge utilizes the shape of a parabola, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! thanks so much, ~maggie

Public Comments

1. if you're just looking for a good parabolic shape in a suspension bridge, try going to http://www.richmangalleries.com/images/Tacony_Palmyra.jpg. Also, some shapes i thought of were like the st louis arch, the design on the back of a cobra's hood, the slice in the bishop in chess. an example of a hyperbola could be something like a nuclear power plant reactors (try "three mile island"). Hope it helps.