Which equation represents a line which is perpendicular to the line x-5y=-40 A. y= 5x+4 B. y=1/5x-1 C. y=-5x-8 D. y=-1/5x-7

Question

asked Jul 13, 2024 147k views

1 Answer

Chui · Answer 1 · 2024-07-20T19:48:34+0000

Step-by-step explanation

x-5y=-40 is of the form Ax+By = C which is known as standard form.

A = 1, B = -5, C = -40

The slope is found by the formula: m = -A/B where B is nonzero.

The slope in this case is: m = -A/B = -1/(-5) = 1/5

Flip the fraction and flip the sign to get the perpendicular slope. In other words, take the negative reciprocal. We go from 1/5 to -5/1 aka -5.

The perpendicular slope is -5.

Of the answer choices, only choice C has slope -5.

Perpendicular slopes multiply to -1 when neither line is vertical nor horizontal. So (1/5)*(-5) = -1.