BICOL UNIVERSITY

POLANGUI CAMPUS
TECHNOLOGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
DEPARTMENT

MATH 2
ANALYTIC GEOMETRY AND SOLID MENSURATION

MODULE 2

Angle from One Line to Another, Graphs and Points of Intersection, An

Prepared by:

Engr. Norejun D. Osial

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 Angle from One Line to Another
We will derive a formula that we will use in solving the angles between two lines. Suppose we
have two intersecting lines l1 and l2 as shown in Figure 1. We define the angle between these
two lines as follows:

Definition
The angle α from l1 to l2 is the smallest nonnegative angle from l1 to l2.

l2
l1

Figure 1. Angle from one line to another Derivation

Let θ1 and θ2 be the inclinations of the lines l1 and l2, respectively. Figure 1 shows that
𝛼 = 𝜃2 − 𝜃1
tan 𝛼 = tan(𝜃2 − 𝜃1 )
The difference formula for tangent yields,
tan 𝜃2 − tan 𝜃1
tan(𝜃2 − 𝜃1 ) =
1 + tan 𝜃1 tan 𝜃2
tan 𝜃2 − tan 𝜃1
tan 𝛼 =
1 + tan 𝜃1 tan 𝜃2
But, since 𝑚1 = tan 𝜃1 and 𝑚2 = tan 𝜃2 , we have
𝒎𝟐 − 𝒎 𝟏
𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝜶 =
𝟏 + 𝒎𝟏 𝒎𝟐

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Thus, we prove the following theorem:

Theorem 1.6
If l1 and l2 are nonperpendicular lines with slopes m1, and m2, respectively, and α is any angle
from l1 to l2, then
𝒎𝟐 − 𝒎 𝟏
𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝜶 =
𝟏 + 𝒎𝟏 𝒎𝟐

Graph of an Equation
The graph of an equation in two variables x and y is simply the set of all points (x, y) in the
plane whose coordinates satisfy the given equation. The determination of the graph of an
equation is one of the principal problems of analytic geometry. Here, we will consider only
point-by-point plotting. Other methods will be discussed in later modules.

Points of Intersection
Since each point of a graph satisfies the given equation, a point of intersection of two graphs
is simply a point that satisfies both equations. Thus, any such point can be found by solving
the two equations simultaneously.

An Equation of a Locus
As stated above, we considered one of the two principal problems of analytic geometry –
finding the graph of an equation. Let us now consider the other – finding an equation of a locus.
In other words, given a description of a curve, we want to find an equation representing that
curve. Since an equation of a curve is a relationship satisfied by the x and y coordinates of each
point on the curve (but by no other point), we need merely consider an arbitrary point (x, y) on
the curve and give the description of the curve in terms of x and y.

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 Equation of a Line
Now, we move on to the chapter 3 of our reference textbook: the Line. Here, we will discuss
about how to determine the equation of a line using four special forms. First, the two simplest
ways of determining a line are by a pair of points or by one point and the slope. Thus, if a line
is described in either of these ways, we should be able to give an equation for it. We begin with
a line described by its slope and a point on it. We can determine the equation of a line given
the slope and a point, as stated in the following theorem:

Point-slope Form

Theorem 3.1
(Point-slope form of a line). A line that has a slope m and contains the point (x1, y1) has
equation
𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 = 𝒎(𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )

Note:
Of course, vertical lines cannot be represented by the point-slope form, since they have no
slope.

Next, given two points, we can solve for the equation of a line that passes through these two
points. Thus, the following theorem applies:

Two-point Form

Theorem 3.2
(Two-point form of a line). A line through (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), 𝒙𝟏 ≠ 𝒙𝟐 , has equation
𝒚𝟐 − 𝒚𝟏
𝒚 − 𝒚𝟏 = (𝒙 − 𝒙𝟏 )
𝒙𝟐 − 𝒙𝟏

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Now, we look at the slope-intercept form and intercept form of a line. The x and y intercepts
of a line are the points at which the line crosses the x and y axes, respectively. These points are
of the form (a, 0) and (0, b) as shown in Figure 2, but the are usually represented simply by a
and b, since 0’s are understood by their position on the axes. With these special points defined,
we now introduce two more forms of a line.

Figure 2. Intercepts of a line

Slope-intercept Form

Theorem 3.3
(Slope-intercept form of a line) A line with slope m and y intercept b has equation
𝒚 = 𝒎𝒙 + 𝒃

Intercept Form

Theorem 3.4
(Intercept form of a line) A line with nonzero intercepts a and b has equation
𝒙 𝒚
+ =𝟏
𝒂 𝒃

It is important to note that these 4 special forms of a line are only a starting point to find the
equation of a line. The final form was always 𝐴𝑥 + 𝐵𝑦 + 𝐶 = 0, as stated in the following
theorem:
General Form

Theorem 3.5
(General form of a line) Every line can be represented by an equation of the form
𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒚 + 𝑪 = 𝟎

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To summarize, an equation of a line can be determined by one of the following special forms:
1. Point-Slope Form
2. Two-Point Form
3. Slope-Intercept Form
4. Intercept Form
The Final form of an equation of a line is expressed in general form, that is,
𝑨𝒙 + 𝑩𝒚 + 𝑪 = 𝟎.

SAMPLE PROBLEMS
1. Find the slope of the line bisecting the angle from l1, with slope 7, to l2, with slope 1.
Solution:
Let m be the slope of the desired line. Since, α1 = α1 (See Figure below), we have
tan 𝛼1 = tan 𝛼2
and l1
𝑚 − 𝑚1 𝑚2 − 𝑚
=
1 + 𝑚1 𝑚 1 + 𝑚2 𝑚
l2
𝑚−7 1−𝑚 α1
=
1 + 7𝑚 1 + 𝑚
(𝑚 − 7)(1 + 𝑚) = (1 + 7𝑚)(1 − 𝑚)
𝑚2 − 6𝑚 − 7 = −7𝑚2 + 6𝑚 + 1
α2
8𝑚2 − 12𝑚 − 8 = 0
4(2𝑚 + 1)(𝑚 − 2) = 0
1
𝑚= − 𝑜𝑟 𝑚=2
2

We have two answers, but obviously we want only one. Which one? Since one of them is the
negative reciprocal of the other, they represent slopes of perpendicular lines, one of which is
the bisector of the angle from l1 to l2, while the other bisects the angle from l2 to l1. An
inspection of the figure to the right shows that the answer we want is 𝒎 = −𝟏/𝟐.

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 2. Find an equation for the set of all points (x, y) that are equidistant from (-2, 4) and the
y axis.

Solution:
The distance (x, y) to (-2, 4) is

𝑑1 = √(𝑥 + 2)2 + (𝑦 − 4)2

The distance from the point (x, y) to the

√(𝑥 + 2)2 + (𝑦 − 4)2 = |𝑥|

3. Find the interior angles of the triangle with vertices A = (1, 5), B =(3, -1), and C = (-1,
-1)
4. Find an equation for the set of all points (x, y) such that it is equidistant from (0, 1)
and the x axis.
5. Find an equation of the chord of the circle 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 = 25 which joins (-3, 4) and (5,0).
Sketch the circle and its chord.
Note:
The solution to problems 3, 4, and 5 will be discussed in detail through video lecture.
References:
Analytic Geometry 6th Edition, Douglas R. Riddle
https://www.basic-mathematics.com/images/derive-angle-between-two-lines.png
http://amsi.org.au/ESA_Senior_Years/imageSenior/1b_14.png

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