Final answer:
To find the equation of the line perpendicular to the line passing through points C(-4,-5) and D(4,9) and passing through the midpoint (0, 2), follow these steps: 1) Find the slope of the given line. 2) Find the midpoint of the line. 3) Find the negative reciprocal of the slope. 4) Use the slope and midpoint to write the equation of the perpendicular line in slope-intercept form.
Step-by-step explanation:
To find the equation of a line perpendicular to the line passing through points C(-4,-5) and D(4,9) and passing through the midpoint of the line, we need to follow these steps:
- Find the slope of the given line
- Find the midpoint of the line
- Find the negative reciprocal of the slope to get the slope of the perpendicular line
- Use the slope and the midpoint to write the equation of the perpendicular line in slope-intercept form
Let's go through these steps:
The slope of a line passing through two points (x₁, y₁) and (x₂, y₂) is given by the formula:
slope = (y₂ - y₁) / (x₂ - x₁)
In this case, the points are C(-4,-5) and D(4,9). So, we can substitute the values into the formula:
slope = (9 - (-5)) / (4 - (-4))
slope = 14 / 8
slope = 7 / 4
Step 2: Find the midpoint of the line
The midpoint of a line passing through two points (x₁, y₁) and (x₂, y₂) is given by the formula:
midpoint = ((x₁ + x₂) / 2, (y₁ + y₂) / 2)
In this case, the points are C(-4,-5) and D(4,9). So, we can substitute the values into the formula:
midpoint = ((-4 + 4) / 2, (-5 + 9) / 2)
midpoint = (0 / 2, 4 / 2)
midpoint = (0, 2)
Step 3: Find the negative reciprocal of the slope
The negative reciprocal of a slope is found by changing the sign of the slope and taking its reciprocal.
In this case, the slope is 7 / 4. So, the negative reciprocal is -4 / 7.
Step 4: Write the equation of the perpendicular line in slope-intercept form
Now that we have the slope (-4 / 7) and the midpoint (0, 2), we can use the slope-intercept form of a line to write the equation:
y = mx + b
where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept.
Substituting the values, we have:
y = (-4 / 7)x + b
To find the value of b, we can substitute the coordinates of the midpoint (0, 2) into the equation:
2 = (-4 / 7)(0) + b
2 = 0 + b
b = 2
So, the equation of the line perpendicular to the line passing through C(-4,-5) and D(4,9) and passing through the midpoint (0, 2) is:
y = (-4 / 7)x + 2