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35 votes
If c and d are constants, what is the slope of a line that is perpendicular to the line cx + dy - b = 3?

User TommasoF
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1 Answer

26 votes
26 votes

Let's remember the slope-intercept form of a line:


y=mx+b

in which m is the slope and b is the point at which it intercepts the y-axis.

Now, let's make it so the equation we were given is in this form:


c\cdot x+d\cdot y-b=3
d\cdot y=3+b-c\cdot x
y=-(c)/(d)\cdot x+(3+b)/(d)

With this we can see that the slope of the given line is -c/d.

User Elisse
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