What is the slope of a line perpendicular to a line with a slope of #3#?

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Answer 1 · 2018-07-11T09:37:48

#m_1 = 3#

#m_2 = -1/3#

If two lines are perpendicular then the product of their slopes is #-1#.

This means one slope is the negative reciprocal of the other.

#a/b xx-b/a = -1#

So if one slope is #3/1#, the slope perpendicular would be #-1/3#

#3/1 xx -1/3 = -1#

One slope will be positive and one will be negative.

One will be steep and the other will be gentle.