Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 3 / 163 of 260 #163 of 1964

Problem 163

AMC 10/12, early questions
Geometry Difficulty 3.5 Multiple choice

Given that \F 1\text{F 1} and \F 2\text{F 2} are the left and right foci of the ellipse \x 2 a 2 + y 2 b 2 =1(a > b > 0)\text{x 2 a 2 + y 2 b 2 =1(a > b > 0)}, if there exists a point \P\text{P} on the ellipse such that \PF 1 PF 2\text{PF 1 PF 2}, then the range of the eccentricity of the ellipse is \()(\quad).

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Official solution

Since F1F_{1} and F2F_{2} are the left and right foci of the ellipse x2a2+y2b2=1(a>b>0) \dfrac {x^{2}}{a^{2}}+ \dfrac {y^{2}}{b^{2}}=1(a > b > 0),
it follows that the eccentricity 0<e<10 < e < 1, F1(c,0)F_{1}(-c,0), F2(c,0)F_{2}(c,0), c2=a2b2c^{2}=a^{2}-b^{2}.
Let point P(x,y)P(x,y), from PF1PF2PF_{1} \perp PF_{2}, we get (xc,y)(x+c,y)=0(x-c,y) \cdot (x+c,y)=0, which simplifies to x2+y2=c2x^{2}+y^{2}=c^{2}.
By solving the system of equations {x2+y2=c2x2a2+y2b2=1 \begin{cases} x^{2}+y^{2}=c^{2} \\\\ \dfrac {x^{2}}{a^{2}}+ \dfrac {y^{2}}{b^{2}}=1\end{cases}, and rearranging, we get x2=(2c2a2)a2c20x^{2}=(2c^{2}-a^{2})\cdot \dfrac {a^{2}}{c^{2}}\geqslant 0.
Solving for ee, we find e22e\geqslant \dfrac { \sqrt {2}}{2}, and since 0<e<10 < e < 1,
22e<1\therefore \dfrac { \sqrt {2}}{2}\leqslant e < 1.
Therefore, the correct choice is: B\boxed{B}.
By setting point P(x,y)P(x,y) and using PF1PF2PF_{1} \perp PF_{2} to get x2+y2=c2x^{2}+y^{2}=c^{2}, and combining it with the equation of the ellipse, we can find the range of the eccentricity of the ellipse.
This question tests the method of finding the eccentricity of an ellipse, which is a medium-level problem. When solving, it is important to carefully read the problem and flexibly apply knowledge of ellipse properties and perpendicular lines.

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.