Question

What is the slope of a line perpendicular to the line y=2x+5 ?What is the slope of a line perpendicular to the line y=2x+5 ?

1/2


−2

2

−1/2

Answer 1

`-(1)/(2)`

Explanation:

Hi there!

In the given equation
`y=2x+5`, the slope of the line is 2.

Perpendicular lines always have slopes that are negative reciprocals, like negative "flipped" fractions.

Example: The negative reciprocal of
`(3)/(1)` (which is the same as 3) is
`-(1)/(3)`.

Example 2: The negative reciprocal of
`-(4)/(3)` is
`(3)/(4)`.

Using this logic, the negative reciprocal of 2, or
`(2)/(1)`, is
`-(1)/(2)`. Therefore, the slope of a line perpendicular to the line
`y=2x+5` is
`-(1)/(2)`.

I hope this helps!