Question

The number of tangents that can be drawn to the ellipse $16x^2+9y^2=144$ from the point (3,-4) is .

• A. 2
• B. 3
• C. 0.0
• D. 1

Answer 1

The correct option is A 2

Let the ellipse be denoted by S and the given point is P(3,-4).
$\therefore S_P=16\times (3{)}^2+9(-4{)}^2-144=144>0$
Hence, the point lies outside the ellipse. So, 2 tangents can be drawn from P to the given ellipse.