Let for two distinct values of , the lines touch the ellipse at the points and . Let the line intersect at the points and . Then the area of the quadrilateral is equal to:
- A
- B
- C
- D
Let for two distinct values of , the lines touch the ellipse at the points and . Let the line intersect at the points and . Then the area of the quadrilateral is equal to:
Correct answer:B
Standard Method
Given: The lines touch the ellipse at points and . The line intersects the ellipse at points and .
Find: The area of quadrilateral .
From the solution, the points of contact are
and one intersection point is
The area of triangle is calculated by the determinant formula:
Since the quadrilateral is formed symmetrically, the area of quadrilateral is twice the area of triangle :
Therefore, the area of the quadrilateral is , so the correct option is B.
Using the area formula
Given: Coordinates stated in the solution are , and .
Find: The area of quadrilateral .
Use the determinant form for the area of a triangle with vertices , and :
Substituting for triangle ,
Then the quadrilateral area is
Hence, the correct option is B.
Using the line incorrectly to find intersection points without substituting it into the ellipse equation. This gives wrong coordinates for and . Always substitute into before using the points.
Applying the determinant area formula with coordinates in the wrong order or with sign errors. This can change the computed triangle area. Write the coordinate rows carefully and take the absolute value at the end.
Forgetting that the quadrilateral area is obtained from symmetry as twice the area of triangle . If only triangle is used, the result becomes instead of the required quadrilateral area.
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