Question

What is the slope of any line perpendicular to the line passing through `(-3,-6)` and `(-2,1)`?

Answer 1

See a solution process below

Explanation:

First, we need to determine the slope of the line going through the two points in the problem. The slope can be found by using the formula: `m = (color(red)(y_2) - color(blue)(y_1))/(color(red)(x_2) - color(blue)(x_1))`

Where `m` is the slope and (`color(blue)(x_1, y_1)`) and (`color(red)(x_2, y_2)`) are the two points on the line.

Substituting the values from the points in the problem gives:

`m = (color(red)(1) - color(blue)(-6))/(color(red)(-2) - color(blue)(-3)) = (color(red)(1) + color(blue)(6))/(color(red)(-2) + color(blue)(3)) = 7/1 = 7`

Now, let's call the slope of a perpendicular line: `color(blue)(m_p)`

The slope of a line perpendicular to a line with slope `color(red)(m)` is the negative inverse, or:

`color(blue)(m_p) = -1/color(red)(m)`

Substituting the slope for the line in the problem gives:

`color(blue)(m_p) = (-1)/color(red)(7) = -1/7`