What is the equation of a line that is perpendicular to the line represented by 2x-y = 7?

1 Answer
Mar 23, 2017

You need to define a point through which they both pass.

Explanation:

You have 2x-y=7

This becomes y = 2x-7 and this is of the form of y = mx + c where m is the slope of the line and c is the y-intercept of the line, i.e. where x=0

When 2 lines are perpendicular, the product of their slopes is -1. I can explain this via trigonometry, but that's a higher level of math, which you don't require in this question.

So, let the slope of the required line be n

We have 2xxn=-1

n = -1/2

In this question, we don't have enough information to calculate the y-intercept, so I'll leave it at

y = -x/2 + d
where d is the y-intercept of the required line.