I need help! What is the equation of the line perpendicular to 3x + y = -8 that passes through (-3,1) ? Write your answer in slope-intercept form. Show your work.

Question

asked Mar 23, 2019 44.7k views

2 Answers

AgBorkowski · Answer 1 · 2019-03-28T16:07:57+0000

y =
(1)/(3) x + 2

the equation of a line in slope-intercept form is

y = mx + c ( m is the slope and c the y-intercept )

rearrange 3x + y = - 8 into this form

subtract 3x from both sides

y = - 3x - 8 ← in slope-intercept form

with slope m = - 3

given a line with slope m then the slope of a line perpendicular to it is

perpendicular slope = -
(1)/(m) =
(1)/(3)

y =
(1)/(3) x + c is the partial equation of the perpendicular

to find c substitute (- 3, 1 ) into the partial equation

1 = - 1 + c ⇒ c = 2

y =
(1)/(3) x + 2 ← in slope-intercept form