Question

What is the slope of a line perpendicular to the line whose equation is y = 2x + 5?

Answer 1

`-1/2`

Explanation:

The slope, or gradient, of the line `y=2x+5` is 2.

If 2 lines are perpendicular, their gradients multiply to -1.

Let us call the perpendicular gradient m.

`2xxm=-1`

`m=-1/2`

Therefore, the slope, or gradient, of the perpendicular line is`-1/2`