| 
 
 
 
Question 102253:  A line passes through the origin and the point (-6, 5).
 
Write the equation of the line that passes through (-6, 5) and is perpendicular to the given line.
 
Write the final answer in the slope-intercept form y = mx + b. 
(The slope and y-intercept must be written as fractions, when needed). 
 
 Answer by edjones(8007)      (Show Source): 
You can  put this solution on YOUR website!  
the slope of a line perpendicular to the given line is   
 | Solved by pluggable solver: FIND a line by slope and one point |  
 
  What we know about the line whose equation we are trying to find out: 
     
      - it goes through point (-6, 5)
  
      - it has a slope of 1.2
  
    
  
   
  First, let's draw a diagram of the coordinate system with point (-6, 5) plotted with a little blue dot: 
   
    
   
    Write this down: the formula for the equation, given point   and intercept a, is 
   
      (see a paragraph below explaining why this formula is correct) 
   
    Given that a=1.2, and  , we have the equation of the line: 
   
      
   
    Explanation: Why did we use formula   ? Explanation goes here. We are trying to find equation y=ax+b. The value of slope (a) is already given to us. We need to find b. If a point ( ,  ) lies on the line, it means that it satisfies the equation of the line. So, our equation holds for ( ,  ):   Here, we know a,  , and  , and do not know b. It is easy to find out:  . So, then, the equation of the line is:  .  
   
    Here's the graph: 
   
    
    |  
  
  
Ed
 
 
 
  | 
 
  
 
 |   
 
 |   
 |  |