All GED Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Which of the following equations depicts a line that is perpendicular to the line
?
The given equation is written in slope-intercept form, and the slope of the line is . The slope of a perpendicular line is the negative reciprocal of the given line. The negative reciprocal here is . Therefore, the correct equation is:
Example Question #2 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Which of the following equations is represented by a line perpendicular to the line of the equation ?
The equation can be rewritten as follows:
This is the slope-intercept form, and the line has slope .
The line of the equation therefore has slope
Since a line perpendicular to this one must have a slope that is the opposite reciprocal of , we are looking for a line with slope .
The slopes of the lines in the four choices are as follows:
;
;
:
: - this is the correct one.
Example Question #2 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Which of the following equations is represented by a line perpendicular to the line of the equation ?
can be rewritten as follows:
Any line with equation is vertical and has undefined slope; a line perpendicular to this is horizontal and has slope 0, and can be written as . The only choice that does not have an is , which can be rewritten as follows:
This is the correct choice.
Example Question #2 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Which of the following equations is represented by a line perpendicular to the line of the equation ?
The equation can be rewritten as follows:
This is the slope-intercept form, and the line has slope .
The line of the equation has slope
Since a line perpendicular to this one must have a slope that is the opposite reciprocal of , we are looking for a line that has slope .
The slopes of the lines in the four choices are as follows:
:
:
:
: - the correct choice.
Example Question #4 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Refer to the above red line. A line is drawn perpendicular to that line with the same -intercept. Give the equation of that line in slope-intercept form.
First, we need to find the slope of the above line.
The slope of a line. given two points can be calculated using the slope formula:
Set :
The slope of a line perpendicular to it has as its slope the opposite of the reciprocal of 3, which would be . Since we want this line to have the same -intercept as the first line, which is the point , we can substitute and into the slope-intercept form of the equation:
Example Question #4 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Line includes the points and . Line includes the points and . Which of the following statements is true of these lines?
The lines are distinct but neither parallel nor perpendicular.
The lines are identical.
The lines are perpendicular.
The lines are parallel.
The lines are parallel.
We calculate the slopes of the lines using the slope formula.
The slope of line is
.
The slope of line is
.
The lines have the same slope, so either they are distinct parallel lines or one and the same line. One way to check for the latter situation is to find the slope of the line connecting one point on to one point on - if the slope is also , the lines coincide. We will use and :
.
The lines are therefore distinct and parallel.
Example Question #3 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Line includes the points and . Line includes the points and . Which of the following statements is true of these lines?
The lines are perpendicular.
The lines are identical.
The lines are distinct but neither parallel nor perpendicular.
The lines are parallel.
The lines are identical.
We calculate the slopes of the lines using the slope formula.
The slope of line is
.
The slope of line is
.
The lines have the same slope, so either they are distinct, parallel lines or one and the same line. One way to determine which is the case is to find the equations.
Line , the line through and , has equation
Line , the line through and , has equation
The lines have the same equation, making them one and the same.
Example Question #1 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Give the equation of the line parallel to the above red line that includes the origin.
First, we need to find the slope of the above line.
The slope of a line. given two points can be calculated using the slope formula:
Set :
A line parallel to this line also has slope . Since it passes through the origin, its -intercept is , and we can substitute into the slope-intercept form of the equation:
Example Question #3 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Consider the equations and . Which of the following statements is true of the lines of these equations?
The lines are perpendicular.
The lines are parallel.
The lines are distinct but neither parallel nor perpendicular.
The lines are identical.
The lines are distinct but neither parallel nor perpendicular.
We find the slope of each line by putting each equation in slope-intercept form, , and examining the coefficient of .
is already in slope-intercept form; its slope is .
To get in slope-intercept form we solve for :
The slope of this line is .
The slopes are not equal so we can eliminate both "parallel" and "identical" as choices.
Multiply the slopes together:
The product of the slopes of the lines is not , so we can eliminate "perpendicular" as a choice.
The correct response is "neither".
Example Question #2 : Parallel And Perpendicular Lines
Consider the equations and . Which of the following statements is true of the lines of these equations?
The lines are parallel.
The lines are perpendicular.
The lines are distinct but neither parallel nor perpendicular.
The lines are one and the same.
The lines are perpendicular.
We find the slope of each line by putting each equation in slope-intercept form and examining the coefficient of .
is already in slope-intercept form; its slope is .
To get into slope-intercept form we solve for :
The slope of this line is .
The slopes are not equal so we can eliminate both "parallel" and "one and the same" as choices.
Multiply the two slopes together:
The product of the slopes of the lines is , making the lines perpendicular.
Certified Tutor
Certified Tutor