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Find the slope of a line perpendicular to each given line.
—x = 6 — Зу

Find the slope of a line perpendicular to each given line. —x = 6 — Зу-example-1
User Eran Medan
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1 Answer

2 votes

Answer:

-3

Explanation:

Solve the equation for y to find the slope of the given line:

1/3x = -2 +y . . . . . divide by -3

y = 1/3x +2 . . . . . the slope is 1/3. (The slope is the coefficient of x.)

The perpendicular line will have a slope that is the negative reciprocal of this:

desired slope = -1/(1/3) = -3

The perpendicular line has a slope of -3.

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Comment on the solution

You may have noticed that when x and y are on opposite sides of the equal sign, the slope is the coefficient of x when the coefficient of y is 1. We don't actually need to move the constant in order to identify the slope of the given line.

User Margherita
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