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

1 Answer
Jul 11, 2018

m_1 = 3

m_2 = -1/3

Explanation:

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.