Question

If a line has a slope of 3, what is the slope of a perpendicular line?

A. 3
B. 1/3
C. -1/3
D. -3

Thanks everyone!

Answer 1

Slope of perpendicular line is -1/3

Explanation:

The slope of the given line is 3 and we have to find the slope of the perpendicular line.

We know that the slope of two perpendicular lines are negative reciprocal of each other.

In other words if the slope of the line is m then then slope of the perpendicular line is
`-(1)/(m)`

The reciprocal of 3 is
`(1)/(3)`

Hence, negative reciprocal of 3 is
`-(1)/(3)`

Therefore, the slope of perpendicular line is -1/3

C is the correct option.