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Find the equation of the line which passes through (-2,1) and which is perpendicular

to the line 2x - 4y = -8. State the answer in slope-intercept form and graph.
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User Arsene
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1 Answer

5 votes

A line that is perpendicular to a line with slope m has slope -1/m which is the opposite reciprocal of the original slope.

In this case the original line in standard form is

2x-4y=-8

transform this into slop intercept form

-4y=-2x-8

4y=2x+8

y=(1/2)x+2

The slope of this original line is 1/2 therefore the perpendicular line will have slope -2

y'=2x'+b

then substitute in the order pair (x',y')

1=2(-2)+b

b=5

Therefore equation of line is

y=2x+5

The graph is just following this equation!

If you have any questions about my explanation please ask I will answer them to the best of my ability.

User Dtorgo
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5.3k points