Question 21·Hard·Systems of Two Linear Equations in Two Variables
In the graph, line passes through points and , and line passes through points and .
Line is perpendicular to segment and passes through the intersection point of lines and . If line has equation , which choice is the value of ?
When a line is defined by conditions involving other lines, first translate the graph into equations and find the key point (here, the intersection of and ). Then use slope facts (negative reciprocal for perpendicular lines) to determine , and finish by substituting a known point into to solve for .
Hints
Find the intersection of and
Use the two labeled points on each line to write equations for and , then solve the system to find their intersection point.
Get the slope of a perpendicular line
Compute the slope of using and . A line perpendicular to it has slope equal to the negative reciprocal.
Use to isolate
Once you know the intersection point and the slope , use .
Desmos Guide
Graph lines and
Enter the two lines determined by the graph points:
Find the intersection
Click the intersection point of the two lines and record its coordinates .
Compute the perpendicular slope
Compute the slope of from and as , then take the negative reciprocal to get .
Compute
Use the recorded intersection point and evaluate in Desmos. The resulting value matches one answer choice.
Step-by-step Explanation
Write equations for lines and
From the graph, line passes through and , so its slope is
and using gives , so is
Line passes through and , so its slope is
and using gives , so is
Find the intersection point of and
Set the expressions for equal:
Multiply by :
So , hence
Substitute into :
The intersection point is .
Use perpendicular slopes to find
The slope of is the slope of the line through and :
A line perpendicular to this has slope
Substitute the intersection point into
Line passes through and has slope . Substitute into :
Compute , so
Therefore, the value of is .