Question

Equation of line passing through (5,0) and perpendicular to y=-3x+4 is

Answer 1

Answer:

Two perpendicular lines have opposite reciprocal slopes.

The slope in

y

=

3

x

+

4

is

3

, so the line perpendicular to it will have a slope of

−

1

3

.

We can write this in the form

y

=

−

1

3

x

+

b

and then plug in

(

3

,

5

)

for

x

and

y

to find the equation of the line perpendicular to the line

y

=

3

x

+

4

that goes through the point

(

3

,

5

)

.

5

=

−

1

3

(

3

)

+

b

5

=

−

1

+

b

6

=

b

Therefore, the equation of our new line is:

y

=

−

1

3

x

+

6

.