Mike Neimeyer, age 17, of Erie, Pa., for his question:

WHAT IS AN ELLIPSE?

An ellipse is a geometrical figure with the shape of a flattened hoop. In geometrical terms, an ellipse is one of the conic sections. It is drawn with an eilipsograph, which is an elliptic compass.

The simplest method to draw an ellipse is to fasten the ends of a string at two points, called the foci. The string must be longer than the distance between the foci. Hold a pencil upright against the string so that the string is stretched tight at all time. Draw half the ellipse; then lift the pencil and move the string to the other side of the pins to draw the second half.

The diameter passing through the foci is called the major axis.

The diameter running perpendicular, or at right angles, to the major axis is the minor axis.

To find the area of an ellipse, multiply half the length of the major axis by half that of the minor axis. Multiply the result by pi (3.14), which represents the ratio of the circumference to the diameter.