Calculating the area of an ellipse in C++

17 Mar 2025 | 4 min read

Ellipses are geometric shapes defined by their unique properties and play a vital role in mathematical and real-world applications. This article helps to calculate the area of the ellipse in C++.

An ellipse is a closed curve with different features apart from other geometric shapes. Unlike circles, ellipses have two distinct axes: a major axis and a minor axis. The major axis is the longest diameter, while the minor axis is the shortest in the ellipse. In a plane, an ellipse is symmetric with respect to two perpendicular axes. It is one of the five conic sections formed by the intersection of a plane with a cone. An ellipse can be defined as the locus of points in a plane, the sum of whose distances from two fixed points is a const. The two fixed points are called the foci of the ellipse. The distance between the foci is called the focal length.

Mathematical Formula for ellipse Area:

The formula will change when the given parameters change.

If the length of the semi-major axis and the length of the semi-minor axis are given, the formula for finding the area will be πab where a is the semi-major axis length, and b is the semi-minor axis length.

If the length of the semi-major axis length is given and eccentric is given, the area will be a^2π√(1-e^2).

Where a is the semi-major axis length, and e is the eccentric.

When the implicit equation for the ellipse is given, which is in the form of Ax^2 + Bxy+ Cy^2 =1, then the area will be 2π/(√(4AC - B^2)).

If the ellipse is centered at the origin, the positive axis intercepts are x and y. The extreme right and top coordinates are xm, and ym will be

π xm y=π x ym.

Example:

Let us take a C++ program for calculating area when the semi-major axis and semi-minor axis are given.

Output:

Calculating the area of an ellipse in C++

Explanation:

This C++ program calculates and displays the area of an ellipse using the lengths of its semi-major and semi-minor axes. The user is prompted to input these values, and the program uses the formula πab to compute the area.

Example 2:

Let us take a C++ program to calculate the area of the ellipse when eccentricity and semi major axis are given.

Output:

Explanation:

This concise C++ program calculates and displays the area of an ellipse using the length of its semi-major axis (a) and eccentricity (e). User input is used to gather these values, and a formula is applied to compute the area.

Example 3:

Let us take a C++ program when the equation is given.

Output:

Explanation:

This program will take the coefficients in the equation from the user and use them in the formula to calculate the area of an ellipse.

Example 4:

Let us take a C++ program when intercepts are given.

Output:

Explanation:

Feel free to copy and use this C++ program to calculate the area of an ellipse based on its positive x-axis intercept, positive y-axis intercept, extreme right coordinate, and extreme top coordinate.

Next TopicComposite Design Pattern in C++

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