Find the slope that is perpendicular to the line y=−1

Danika Mckay

Danika Mckay

Answered question

2022-10-22

Find the slope that is perpendicular to the line y=−1

Answer & Explanation

Bridget Acevedo

Bridget Acevedo

Beginner2022-10-23Added 19 answers

The slope m of a line passing through points ( x 1 , y 1 ) and ( x 2 , y 2 ) is given by the formula:
m = Δ y Δ x = y 2 - y 1 x 2 - x 1
The line y=−1 passes through the points (0,−1) and (1,−1). So it has slope:
( - 1 ) - ( - 1 ) 1 - 0 = 0 1 = 0
Alternatively, simply note that y=−1 can be rewritten:
y=0x+(−1)
which is in standard slope intercept form:
y=mx+b
with slope m=0 and intercept b=−1.
If a line has non-zero slope m, then any line perpendicular to it will have slope - 1 m .
The line y=−1 has slope 0 so any line perpendicular to it will have undefined slope. If you try to evaluate - 1 m , it involves division by 0, which has undefined result.

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