Lesson 11: Parallel & Perpendicular Lines.

If we have two lines, we usually use the notation l1 to denote the first line, and l2 to denote the
second line. The slope for line one is denoted by m1 , and the slope for the second line is denoted
by m2 . Notice how the subscripts go. For the first line we use a subscript of 1, for the second
line we use a subscript of 2.
Two lines are called parallel if their slopes
are equal. That is, if m1 is the slope for the first
line and m2 is the slope for the second line,
then l1 l2 . We use a double slash mark, //, to l1
denote parallel lines. Now this is an if and only
if statement. That is, two lines are parallel if l2
and only if they have the same slopes. This
says that if you have parallel lines, then the lines
have the same slope. This also says that, if you
have two lines that have the same slope, then the lines must be parallel. Since parallel lines have
the same slope, then the lines never intersect. That is, the lines never cross each other.

Example 1: Is the line y + 2x - 3 = 0 parallel to the line 2y + 4x + 8 = 0?

In order to answer this we must find the slope of each line and then see if the slopes are equal.
We need to put both lines into a form in which we can see the slope. The only form we can use
here will be the slope-intercept form. We have no points given to us, so the point-slope form
would be of no use here. So for the first line, putting it into slope-intercept form we have
y = -2x + 3, so the slope is (-2). For the second line, putting it into slope-intercept form we have
2y = - 4x - 8 or y = -2x - 4. Remember, the coefficient of y must be one! So the slope of the
second line is also (-2). Hence, the two lines are parallel since they have the same slope. This
does not imply that the lines are the same, this just means that the lines have the same slope.

Example 2: Find the equation of the line that passes through the point (1, 5) and is parallel to the
line 10x - 2y + 6 = 0.
Since we are given a particular point, we will use the point-slope form for the equation of a line to
find an equation for the line that passes through the given point. So, we need to find the slope for
the line in question. However, since the line we are looking for is parallel to the line
10x - 2y + 6 = 0, all we need to do is find this line s slope, and we will be able to complete the
problem. Putting the given line into slope-intercept form, we will be able to find the slope.
10x - 2y + 6 = 0
- 2y = -10x - 6
y = 5x + 3
Hence, this line=s slope is 5. So now using the given point (1, 5) and that the slope is 5, we can
use the point-slope form to write the equation of the line in general form as follows:
(y - 5) = 5(x - 1)
( y - 5) = 5x - 5
y = 5x - 5 + 5
1
 y = 5x + 0

Exercise 1: Find the equation of the line that passes through the point (2, 4) and is parallel to the
line that runs through the points (6, 7) and (3, 9).

Exercise 2: For the line that runs through the points (6, 7) and (3, 9), is this line parallel to the
line that runs through the points (12, 8) and (10, 5)?

Two lines are perpendicular if they intersect each

other at right angles, that is, they cross each other at a 90
degree angle. We use the symbol, ⊥ , to denote that two
lines are perpendicular to each other. When two lines are l1
perpendicular, their slopes are negative reciprocals of
each other. Recall, a reciprocal is the multiplicative l2
inverse of a number. That is, when a number and it s
reciprocal are multiplied together we get 1. For example,
l1 ⊥ l2
1 1
the reciprocal of 2 is , since the product of 2 and is 1.
2 2
So , for perpendicular lines, the product of the slopes is (-1). So in general, if we have two
slopes, and neither slope is 0, then we can conclude the following:
−1
m1m2 = −1 so m1 = ; m2 ≠ 0 The role of the slopes can be switched.
m2
Now, if it is the case that the product of the slopes is zero, m1m2 = 0 , then one of the slopes must
have been zero. That means that one of the lines is horizontal, and therefore the only
perpendicular line to a horizontal line is a vertical line. This leads to two cases:

1.) If a line has no slope, or the slope is undefined, then this implies the line is vertical.
Hence, the only perpendicular line to it must be a horizontal line with a slope of 0.

2.) If the slope to a line is 0, then the line is horizontal and the only perpendicular line to it
must be vertical which has an undefined slope.

Example 3: Find the equation of the line that runs through the point (2, 7) and is perpendicular to
the line y = - 4.

2
Taking the given equation for the line y = - 4,
we need to put it into the general form for the
7 (2,7)
equation of a line, which is y = 0x - 4. By the
zero in front of the variable x, we know the
slope of this line is 0, or m1 = 0 . Hence, the
given line is horizontal. This tells us that the
line we are looking for is a vertical line, which
means that it has an undefined slope. We need
to find the line. Since the line is vertical, it will
1 1 3
have no horizontal movement. Hence, the line
will have the form x = b, where b is some
number. Notice that if x is just some fixed -3 -2 -1 -1
number, there is no movement in the horizontal -2
direction, only in the vertical direction. That is, -3
no matter what value you choose for y, the y=-4
value for x will be b. So all the coordinates of x=2
the points will have the form (b, y). Now, in
the statement of the problem we are told that
the line we are looking for must pass through the point (2, 7). Hence, by this point the value of x
is 2. So the value of b is 2. The line is x = b = 2. So the line x = 2 passes through the point (2, 7)
and is perpendicular to the line y = - 4.

Example 4: Find the equation of the line that passes through the point (1, 1) and is perpendicular
to the line 2x + 5y + 15 = 0.
We will use the equation of the given line to find the slope of the line we are looking for. We
need to put the given line into slope-intercept form so that we can find the slope for the line we
2
are looking for. So, 2x + 5y + 15 = 0 becomes, y = − x − 3. Now, since the line we are looking
5
2
for is perpendicular to this line, the slope is the negative reciprocal of − . So, the slope m that
5
 2 −1 5
we are trying to find must satisfy the condition, m  −  = −1 or m = = . Hence, the slope
 5 2 2
−
5
5
of the line we are looking for is . Using the given point and the point-slope form for the
2
5
equation of a line, we have (y - 1) = (x - 1) is the line we seek. Putting this into general form,
2
the equation of the line we want is 2 y − 2 = 5 x − 5 or 2 y − 5 x + 3 = 0.

Observation: We saw in example 3 that a vertical line has the general form x = b, where b is a
number. Since there is no horizontal movement on a vertical line, this means that there is only
vertical movement. Hence, there is no change along the x-axis direction. So, the equation
x = b, tells me that the only movement is in the vertical or y-axis direction. The general equation
3
for a horizontal line is y = a, where a is a number. This equation tells me that there is no
movement in the vertical direction, only movement in the horizontal direction.

Exercise 3: Find the equation of the line that passes through the point (4, 5) and is perpendicular
to the line 5x - 6y + 10 = 0.

Exercise 4: Find the equation of the line that is perpendicular to the line 4x + 3y + 10 = 0 and has
the same y-intercept as the line y = 3x + 2.

Summary: When two lines are parallel, they have the same slopes. A property of parallel lines
is the fact that they never intersect, they run side by side forever. When two lines are
perpendicular, their slopes are negative reciprocals of each other. That is, the product of their
slopes is (- 1). A property of perpendicular lines is that they intersect at right angles. Now we
are going to look at the Distance Formula and Circles.