Line k is defined by y = - 17 3 x + 5 . Line j is perpendicular to line

Question

Line k is defined by y = - 17 3 x + 5 . Line j is perpendicular to line k in the xy -plane. What is the slope of line j ?

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is 3 17 . It&rsquo;s given that line j is perpendicular to line k in the xy -plane. This means that the slope of line j is the negative reciprocal of the slope of line k . The equation of line k , y = - 17 3 x + 5 , is written in slope-intercept form y = m x + b , where m is the slope of the line and b is the y -coordinate of the y -intercept of the line. It follows that the slope of line k is - 17 3 . The negative reciprocal of a number is - 1 divided by the number. Therefore, the negative reciprocal of - 17 3 is - 1 - 17 3 , or 3 17 . Thus, the slope of line j is 3 17 . Note that 3/17, .1764, .1765, and 0.176 are examples of ways to enter a correct answer.

Question line-k