Question

Triangle ABC has vertices A(5, 7), B(11, -1), and C(3, 3).

Which of the following is the equation of the altitude to side AC?

Answer 1

The slope of the side AC is
`(3-7)/(3-5)=-2`, so the slope of the altitude is the negative reciprocal, 1/2.

Substituting into point-slope form,

`y+1=(1)/(2)(x-11)\\\\y+1=(1)/(2)x-(11)/(2)\\\\\boxed{y=(1)/(2)x-(13)/(2)}`