Question 1 of 5
In the -plane, the graph of line passes through the points and . Which equation represents a line that is perpendicular to line and passes through the point ?
Explanation
First find the slope of line using its two points:
A line perpendicular to a line with slope has slope . So the desired line has the form
Since it passes through , substitute and :
So , and the equation is
Concept summary
To write an equation of a perpendicular line from coordinate information, first find the original slope, then use its negative reciprocal, and finally solve for the intercept with the given point.