Precalculus (6th Edition) Blitzer

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-13446-914-3
ISBN 13: 978-0-13446-914-0

Chapter 1 - Section 1.5 - More on Slope - Exercise Set - Page 227: 44

Answer

The slope of line perpendicular to $Ax+By+C=0,A\ne 0\text{ and }B\ne 0$ is $\frac{B}{A}$.

Work Step by Step

Consider the function provided $Ax+By+C=0$. Write the slope intercept form of the equation; isolate y on one side: $By=-Ax-C$ Divide both sides by $B$ ; $\begin{align} & \frac{By}{B}=\frac{-Ax-C}{B} \\ & y=-\frac{A}{B}x-\frac{C}{B} \end{align}$ The slope of the line is the coefficient of x in the equation $y=ax+b$. The slope line obtained is: $-\frac{A}{B}$ The slope of the perpendicular line is the negative reciprocal of $-\frac{A}{B}$. So, the slope of the perpendicular line is $\frac{B}{A}$. Thus, the slope of the line perpendicular to $Ax+By+C=0,A\ne 0\text{ and }B\ne 0$ is $\frac{B}{A}$.
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