how do you find the equation of a line perpendicular to another line at a point?

The gradient of the perpendicular line is the negative reciprocal of the gradient of the original line. For example if the gradient of the original line is 4, the gradient of the perpendicular line is -1/4. If the gradient of the original line is 1/2 , the gradient of the perpendicular line is -2 (=-2/1). The equation of the perpendicular line can then be found by substituting the gradient (m) and the given point (x,y) into the equation y=mx+c.(the reciprocal of a number is 1/that number)

FG
Answered by Frankie G. Maths tutor

3309 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

How do you find the turning point of a quadratic equation?


'There are two adults and two children in the Adams family. They buy an all-day travel ticket for each person. The price is £8 for each adult and £5 for each child. They also buy 4 ice-creams at £1.95 each. How much do they spend in total?'


Nicky buys a blender. 20% VAT is added to the price of the blender so Nicky has to pay £180. What is the price of the blender with no VAT added?


A bottle contains 300ml of medicine, the dose for a child can be given by (m*a)/150 where m is the child's age in months and a is the adult dosage of 40ml. If you need 2 doses a day, how long will the medicine last until it's empty for a 2y/o child?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning