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1 vote
The equation of line m is

5x - 3y = 2.
What is the slope of a line that is perpendicular to line m?
Enter your answer in the box as a fraction in simplest form.

User NiloVelez
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1 Answer

4 votes
The equation is currently in standard form, which makes it a little challenging to find the slope. However, we can rearrange the equation into slope-intercept form to get the slope.

1.) Rearrange the equation from Ax+By=C form to y=mx+b form:

5x-3y=2

Subtract 5x from both sides:

-3y=-5x+2

Isolate y by divided by -3 on both sides:

y=(-5/-3)x-2/3

A negative number divided by a negative number is a positive quotient:

y=5/3x-2/3

Now that we have the slope of the equation, we can find the slope of a line perpendicular to it:

Perpendicular slope of any line: m——> -1/m, where m is the slope.

Essentially, we take the negative reciprocal of the initial line’s slope.

So, the slope is 5/3 and we will take it’s negative reciprocal:

5/3——>-3/5

Therefore, your answer is -3/5
User Tiago Martins
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