Analytical Geometry

ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY
6. Straight Lines
6.1. Equations of Lines
A direction vector of a straight line is a vector parallel to the line.
According to the postulates of geometry, a point M 0 and a direction vector
q determine the straight line L.
Let M be an arbitrary point on the line. The difference r r0 between the
radius-vectors of the points M and M 0 is a vector in the line, that is,
r r0 || q .
Two parallel vectors are proportional:
r r0 tq (1)
This vector equality is called the vector equation of the line. An arbitrary
number t is said to be a parameter.

Assume that a rectangular Cartesian coordinate system is chosen. Then

equation (1) can be written in the coordinate form as the system of three
linear equations
x x0 q x t
y y0 q y t (2)
z z0 qz t
where x, y and z are running coordinates of a point on the line. Vectors
r , r0 and q are represented by their coordinates:
r r0 {x x0 , y y0 , z z0 } ,
q {q x , q y , qz } .
Equations of a line in coordinate form (2) are called the parametric
equations of a line.

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 Analytical Geometry
Solving system (2) by elimination of the parameter t, we obtain the
canonical equations of a line:

x x0 y y0 z z0
. (3)
qx qy qz

If M 0 ( x0 , y 0 , z0 ) and M 1 ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) are two given points on a line then the

vector
q { x1 x0 , y1 y0 , z1 z0 }
joining these points serves as a direction vector of the line.
Therefore, we get the following equations of a line passing through two
given points:

x x0 y y0 z z0
(4)
x1 x0 y1 y0 z1 z0

Examples:
1) Let L be a line passing through the points M 1 (1, 0, 2) and
M 2 (3, 1, 2) .
Check whether the point A(7, 3, 10) lie on the line L.
Solution: Using (4) we get the equations of L:
x 1 y z 2
.
2 1 4
The coordinates of the point A satisfy the equation:
7 1 3 10 2
,
2 1 4
and so A is a point of the line L.
2) Write down the canonical equations of the line passing through the
point A( 2, 3, 4) and being parallel to the vector q {5, 0, 1} .
Solution: By equation (3), we obtain
x 2 y 3 z 4
.
5 0 1
y 3
Note that a symbolical notation means the equation y 3.
0

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Analytical Geometry
6.2. Lines in a Plane
On the x, y–plane, a line is described by the linear equation
Ax By C 0 . (5)
If M 0 ( x0 , y0 ) is a point on the line then
Ax0 By 0 C 0. (6)
Subtracting identity (6) from equation (5) we obtain the equation of a line
passing through the point M 0 ( x0 , y0 ) :
A( x x0 ) B ( y y0 ) 0 . (6a)
The expression on the left hand side has a form of the scalar product of the
vectors n { A, B} and r r0 {x x0 , y y0 } :
n ( r r0 ) 0 .
Therefore, the coefficients A and B can be interpreted geometrically as the
coordinates of a vector in the x, y–plane, being perpendicular to the line.

The canonical equation of a line in the x, y–plane has a form

x x0 y y0
,
qx qy
where q {q x , q y } is a direction vector of the line.
In the x, y–plane, an equation of a line passing through two given points,
M 0 ( x0 , y0 ) and M 1 ( x1 , y1 ) , is written as follows
x x0 y y0
.
x1 x0 y1 y0
Sometimes it is helpful to express a straight-line equation in the x, y–plane
as
x y
1. (7)
a b
In this case, y 0 implies x a , and x 0 implies y b .
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 Analytical Geometry

Therefore, the quantities a and b are, respectively, the x-intercept and the y-
intercept of a graph of the line. Equation (7) is called an equation of a line
in the intercept form.
A line on the x,y–plane may be also given by the equation in the slope-
intercept form
y kx b ,
where b is the y-intercept of a graph of the line, and k is the slope of the
line.
If M 0 ( x0 , y0 ) is a point on the line, that is, y0 kx0 b , then the point–
slope equation of the line is
y y0 k ( x x0 ) .

Examples:
1) A line on the x, y–plane is given by the equation
2 x 3 y 24 0 .
Find: (i) any two points on the line; (ii) the slope of the line; (iii)
the x– and y–intercepts.
Solution:
(i) Setting x = 0 we obtain y = 8.
If x = 3 then y = 10.
Therefore, the points P(0, 8) and Q(3, 10) lie on the line.
2
(ii) 2 x 3 y 24 0 y x 8,
3
Therefore, the slope of the line is k 2 3 .
(iii) The y–intercept equals 8. The x–intercept is the solution of the
equation y 0 , that is, x = –12.
2) In the x, y–plane, find the equation of the line passing through the
point M 1 (5, 3) and being perpendicular to the vector N {2, 1} .
Solution: Using equation (6a) we obtain
2( x 5) ( y 3) 0 y 2x 7 .
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Analytical Geometry
3) Let M 1 ( 2, 4) and M 2 (1, 6) be the points on a line.
Which of the following points, A( 3, 1) , B (0, 3) and C (3, 6) , are
the points on the line?
Solution: In view of the equation of a line passing through two given
points, we have
x 2 y 4 x 2 y 4
1 2 6 4 3 2
2 x 3 y 12 0 .
Substituting the coordinates of the points we obtain that
A( 3, 1) is not a point on the line, since
2 ( 3) 3 1 12 3 0 ;
B(0, 3) is not a point on the line, since
2 0 3 3 12 21 0 ;
C (3, 6) is a point on the line, since
2 3 3 6 12 0 0 .

6.3. Angle Between Two Lines

The angle between two lines is the angle between direction vectors of the
lines.
If p { p x , p y , p z } and q {q x , q y , q z } are direction vectors of lines, then
the cosine of the angle between the lines is given by the following formula:
p q p x qx pyqy pz qz
cos .
| p| |q| p x2 p 2y pz2 qx2 q 2y qz2
If two lines are perpendicular to each other then their direction vectors are
also perpendicular. This means that the scalar product of the direction
vectors is equal to zero:
p q p x q x p y q y p z qz 0 .
If two lines are parallel then their direction vectors are proportional:
p cq ,
where c is a number.
In the coordinate form, this condition looks like
px p y pz
.
qx q y qz

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 Analytical Geometry
We need direction vectors of lines to find the angle between the lines.
Consider a few particular cases.
1) Let a line be given by two points M 1 ( x1 , y1 , z1 ) and M 2 ( x2 , y2 , z2 ) .
Then
p {x2 x1 , y2 y1 , z2 z1}
is a direction vector of the line.
2) If a line in the x, y–plane is given by the equation
Ax By C 0 ,
then we can easily find two points on the line. For instance,
M 1 (0, C B) and M 2 ( C A , 0) are two points on the line.
If two lines in the x, y–plane are given by the equations
A1 x B1 y C1 0 and A2 x B2 y C2 0
then the angle between the lines is equal to the angle between
perpendicular vectors n1 { A1 , B1} and n2 { A2 , B2 } to the lines:
n1 n2
cos .
| n1 | | n2 |
Note that a perpendicular vector to a line is also called a normal vector
to the line.
3) If a line in the x, y–plane is given by the equation
x y
1,
a b
then M 1 (0, b) and M 2 (a , 0) are two points on the line, and so
p {a , b} is a direction vector of the line.
4) If two lines in the x, y–plane are given by the equations in the slope-
intercept form
y k1 x b1 and y k 2 x b2 ,
and is the angle between the lines, then
k2 k1
tan .
1 k1k2
The lines are parallel, if
k1 k2 .
The lines are perpendicular, if
k1k 2 1.

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Analytical Geometry

Examples:
1) Find the angle between two lines in the x, y–plane, if they are
given by the following equations:
3x 4 y 1 0 and 2 x y 5 0 .
Solution: Normal vectors to the lines are, respectively, n1 {3, 4}
and n2 {2, 1} . Therefore,
n1 n2
cos
| n1 | | n2 |
3 4 ( 4) 1 8 8
5.
32 ( 4) 2 2 2 12 5 5 25

2) Find the angle between two lines in the x, y–plane, if they are
given by the equations in the slope-intercept form:
3
y 3x 1 and y x 5.
3
Solution: We have k1 3 and k 2 3 3.
Since
k1k2 3 3 3 1,

the lines are orthogonal: .

2
3) Let A = {2, –1}, B = {4, 4} and C = {9, 7} be the vertices of a
triangle. Find the equation of the altitude from the vertex A, and
write down the equation in the intercept form.
Solution: If D = {x, y} is an arbitrary point on the altitude from the
vertex A, then the vectors AD {x 2, y 1} and BC {5, 3} are

orthogonal. Therefore, the scalar product of AD and BC is equal to

zero, and we obtain the desired equation:
AD BC 5( x 2) 3( y 1) 0
5x 3 y 7 0
x y
1.
75 73

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 Analytical Geometry
6.4. Distance From a Point to a Line
Consider a line in the x, y–plane.
Let n be a normal vector to the line and M ( x0 , y0 ) be any point on the
line. Then the distance d from a point P not on the line is equal to the
absolute value of the projection of PM on n :

In particular, if the line is given by the equation

Ax By C 0 ,
and the coordinates of the point P are x1 and y1 , that is,
n { A, B} and PM {x1 x0 , y1 y0 } ,
then the distance from the point P( x1 , y1 ) to the line is calculated
according to the following formula:
| A( x1 x0 ) B ( y1 y0 ) |
d .
A2 B 2
Since M ( x0 , y0 ) is a point on the line,
Ax0 By 0 C 0 .
Therefore, we obtain
| Ax1 By1 C |
d .
A2 B 2
Example: Let ABC be a triangle in x, y–plane with the vertices at the
points A {2, 1} , B {4, 4} and C {9, 7} .
Find the altitude from the vertex A.
Solution: The altitude from the vertex A equals the distance d from the
point A to the line passing through the points B and C.
Find the equation of the line BC:
x 2 y 1
5x 2 y 12 0 .
2 5
Therefore, a normal vector to the line BC is n {5, 2} .
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Analytical Geometry

Since AC {7, 8} , we finally obtain

AC n 7 5 8 ( 2) 19 19
d 29 .
|n| 52 ( 2) 2 29 29

6.5. Relative Position of Lines

Let two lines, L1 and L2 , be given by their equations, e.g., in the canonical
form:
x x1 y y1 z z1
L1 : ,
px py pz
x x2 y y2 z z2
L2 : ,
qx qy qz
where { p x , p y , p z } p and {q x , q y , q z } q are direction vectors of the
lines.
In order to determine the relative position of the lines, it is necessary to
consider the equations of both lines as a system of linear equations. Each
lines is described by two linear equations, and so we have the following
system of four linear equations with three unknowns x, y and z:
( x x1 ) p x ( y y1 ) p y
( x x1 ) p x ( z z1 ) pz
(1)
( x x2 ) q x (y y2 ) q y
( x x2 ) q x ( z z 2 ) q z
Let us analyze all possible cases.
1) Assume that system (1) is inconsistent. Then the lines are either parallel
or skew. If the coordinates of the direction vectors p and q are
proportional, that is,
px p y pz
q x q y qz
then the lines are parallel; otherwise, they are skew.
2) Suppose that system (1) is consistent, and the rank of the coefficient
matrix equals 3. Then L1 and L2 are intersecting lines, that is, they have
exactly one point of intersection.
3) If system (1) is consistent, and the rank of the coefficient matrix equals
2, then the lines coincide with each other.

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