What Is the Difference Between a Sphere and an Ellipsoid?

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Spheres

In your daily life, there are lots of objects around you shaped like spheres. Just think about a soccer ball, a baseball, a basketball, or a golf ball. A sphere is a figure that doesn’t have a single side, vertex, top or bottom.

Eigth spheres

Think About This

Can you picture any other objects that are shaped like spheres?

Examples of different objects that are shaped like spheres: A globe, a planet, a cannonball, an orange, and the top of a flagpole.

Ellipsoid

If you compare an ellipsoid to a sphere, you can recognize the ellipsoid as a sphere that has been stepped on.

Similar to the sphere, the ellipsoid doesn’t have any sides, vertices, bottom or top.

Sphere, foot and ellipsoid

Think About This

Think about it. Do you know any objects that are shaped as ellipsoids?

Examples of different ellipsoids: A dinosaur egg, an ostrich egg, a football, and a rugby ball. Blimps and plane frames are also almost shaped like ellipsoids.

Football, small egg and large egg

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