latus rectum

American  

[ley-tuhs rek-tuhm] / ˈleɪ təs ˈrɛk təm /

noun

Geometry.

• latera recta
  plural

1. the chord perpendicular to the principal axis and passing through a focus of an ellipse, parabola, or hyperbola.

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latus rectum British  

/ ˈlɑːtəs ˈrɛktəm /

noun

1. geometry a chord that passes through the focus of a conic and is perpendicular to the major axis

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• latera recta
  plural

Etymology

Origin of latus rectum

1695–1705; < New Latin: literally, straight side

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

latus rectum

The line segment that passes through the focus and is parallel to the directrix is called the latus rectum.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

TRY IT #1 Graph Identify and label the focus, directrix, and endpoints of the latus rectum.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

TRY IT #4 Graph Identify and label the vertex, axis of symmetry, focus, directrix, and endpoints of the latus rectum.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

The key features of a parabola are its vertex, axis of symmetry, focus, directrix, and latus rectum.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015

The endpoints of the latus rectum lie on the curve.

From Textbooks ● Feb. 13, 2015