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Two lines are parallel lines if they do not intersect. The slopes of the lines are the same.
If and only if and we say the lines coincide. Coincident lines are the same line.
Two lines are perpendicular lines if they intersect to form a right angle.
Given the functions below, identify the functions whose graphs are a pair of parallel lines and a pair of perpendicular lines.
Parallel lines have the same slope. Because the functions and each have a slope of 2, they represent parallel lines. Perpendicular lines have negative reciprocal slopes. Because −2 and are negative reciprocals, the functions and represent perpendicular lines.
If we know the equation of a line, we can use what we know about slope to write the equation of a line that is either parallel or perpendicular to the given line.
Suppose for example, we are given the equation shown.
We know that the slope of the line formed by the function is 3. We also know that the y- intercept is Any other line with a slope of 3 will be parallel to So the lines formed by all of the following functions will be parallel to
Suppose then we want to write the equation of a line that is parallel to and passes through the point This type of problem is often described as a point-slope problem because we have a point and a slope. In our example, we know that the slope is 3. We need to determine which value of will give the correct line. We can begin with the point-slope form of an equation for a line, and then rewrite it in the slope-intercept form.
So is parallel to and passes through the point
Given the equation of a function and a point through which its graph passes, write the equation of a line parallel to the given line that passes through the given point.
Find a line parallel to the graph of that passes through the point
The slope of the given line is 3. If we choose the slope-intercept form, we can substitute and into the slope-intercept form to find the y- intercept.
The line parallel to that passes through is
We can use a very similar process to write the equation for a line perpendicular to a given line. Instead of using the same slope, however, we use the negative reciprocal of the given slope. Suppose we are given the function shown.
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