Question

What's a parabola? What's a hyperbola?

Answer 1

Parabola: is a two-dimensional, mirror-symmetrical curve, which is approximately U-shaped when oriented as shown in the diagram below, but which can be in any orientation in its plane. It fits any of several superficially different mathematical descriptions which can all be proved to define curves of exactly the same shape.

Hyperbola:
In mathematics, a hyperbola (plural hyperbolas or hyperbolae) is a type of smooth curve lying in a plane, defined by its geometric properties or by equations for which it is the solution set. A hyperbola has two pieces, called connected components or branches, that are mirror images of each other and resemble two infinite bows

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Answer 2

Both parabolas and hyperbolas are an open curve which means that the arms or branches of the curves continue to infinity; they are not closed curves like a circle or an ellipse.