How do you find the slope that is perpendicular to the line #y=7/5x - 2#?

1 Answer
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Oct 23, 2017

The slope is #(-5)/7#.

Explanation:

The slope of a line in slope intercept form (#y=mx+b#) gives the slope of the line. The coefficient of #x#, which we call #m#, is equal to a line's slope.

In this case, the slope is #7/5#.

To find the slope of a perpendicular line, we simply use the negative reciprocal of the number. The reciprocal of #7/5# is #5/7#.

Therefore, the negative reciprocal of #7/5# is #(-5)/7#.

The slope of a perpendicular line is therefore #(-5)/7#.

In other cases, you might need to manipulate the equation to get it in slope intercept form.

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