Question

How do you find the slope of a line perpendicular to (4, 6) and (5, –5)?

Answer 1

`1/11`

Explanation:

First find the slope of the line joining the 2 given points:

`m = (y_2-y_1)/(x_2-x_1)`

`m = (-5-6)/(5-4) = (-11)/1 = -11`

Slopes which are perpendicular are negative reciprocals of each other. (Turn the slope upside down and change the sign.)

`-11/1" becomes "1/11`