What does ellipse mean?
Word: Ellipse
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Ellipse means a flat oval shape, like a circle that has been stretched evenly in one direction. The Earth and the other planets move round the Sun along paths of this shape.
Synonyms: oval
How do you spell ellipse?
Syllables: el - lipse
Tricky part: The l is doubled. Writing elipse, with a single l, is the slip that costs most marks.
Watch out for: elipse, elippse, elypse
Memory tip: Think of the two pins used to draw an ellipse with a loop of thread: two pins on the board, two l's in the word.
Ellipse in a sentence
Example 1: Our maths teacher pinned two drawing pins to the board, looped a thread round them and traced a perfect ellipse with chalk.
Example 2: The athletics track at the district stadium looks like a stretched ellipse from the top of the stand.
Example 3: Seen at an angle, the round mouth of a glass turns into an ellipse.
Fun Fact
In 1609 the astronomer Johannes Kepler showed that Mars travels round the Sun in an ellipse, not a circle, with the Sun sitting at one of two special points inside it called foci.
Practise the CREST Way
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
spleeil 1234567
a) 3745621
b) 3125674
c) 5617432
d) 4376215
Show answer
d) 4376215. Taken in that order, the numbered letters give the name of the stretched-circle shape.
Word Champ
Choose the correct option to make a meaningful word:
elli____
a) pase
b) pse
c) psse
d) pce
Show answer
b) pse. The shape name closes with the same three letters as lapse and glimpse.
Word Puzzle
Match the words with the correct options:
1. ellipse 2. diameter 3. arc a. a part of the curved edge of a circle b. a closed curve that is wider one way than the other c. a straight line through the centre of a circle from one side to the other
a) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
c) 1-b, 2-c, 3-a. Think of drawing each one: an ellipse is a whole closed curve, a diameter cuts straight across a circle and an arc is only a piece of its edge.
Spellacadabra
Choose the option in which the following letters will fit in the given order:
e, i, e
a) __ll__ps__
b) c__ll__ps__
c) __mp__ls__
d) r__l__ps__
Show answer
a) __ll__ps__. Only ellipse takes e, i, e; collapse needs o, a, e, relapse e, a, e and impulse i, u, e.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these has the outline of an ellipse?
a) a slice of pizza seen from above
b) a brick seen from the side
c) a cucumber slice cut on a slant
d) a chessboard seen from above
Show answer
c) a cucumber slice cut on a slant
2. How many straight sides does an ellipse have?
a) none
b) three
c) two
d) four
Show answer
a) none
