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What is the slope and equation of a line perpendicular to the y-axis passing through point (–5, –3)?

User Bdart
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1 Answer

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Answer:

Slope: m = 0

Equation: y = -3

Explanation:

A line perpendicular to the y-axis always has a slope of 0. Slope is calculated by (y2-y1)/(x2-x1) or rise/run or delta y/delta x (they're all the same thing, delta means difference and is notated with a triangle). When there is no change in y (perpendicular to the y-axis), no matter what the change in x is, the slope will be 0.

Since it is given that one of the points has a y-value of -3, the equation for this line would be y = -3. The formula for a linear equation is y=mx+b. Since the slope is 0, the value of mx is 0, and therefore not needed in the equation. b represents the y-intercept and in this case would be -3.

User Seth Warburton
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