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parallel to the directrix and passing through a focus; its half-length is the semi-latus rectum .

The focal parameter is the distance from a focus to the corresponding directrix.

The major axis is the chord between the two vertices: the longest chord of an ellipse, the shortest chord between the branches of a hyperbola. Its half-length is the semi-major axis . When an ellipse or hyperbola are in standard position as in the equations below, with foci on the -axis and center at the origin,

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