Difference between revisions of "Perpendicular"
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
==Coordinate Plane==  | ==Coordinate Plane==  | ||
| − | Two linear graphs in the Cartesian coordinate plane are perpendicular if and only if one's slope is the negative reciprocal of the other's. This means that their slopes must have a product of <math>-1</math>.  | + | Two linear graphs in the Cartesian coordinate plane are perpendicular if and only if one's [[slope]] is the negative reciprocal of the other's. This means that their slopes must have a product of <math>-1</math>.  | 
==See Also==  | ==See Also==  | ||
*[[Parallel]]  | *[[Parallel]]  | ||
| − | |||
*[[Skew]]  | *[[Skew]]  | ||
[[Category:Definition]]  | [[Category:Definition]]  | ||
[[Category:Geometry]]  | [[Category:Geometry]]  | ||
Latest revision as of 14:33, 20 October 2007
Being perpendicular is a property of lines in a plane. Generally, when the term is used, it refers to the definition of perpendicular in Euclidean geometry.
Definition
Two lines 
 and 
 are said to be perpendicular if they intersect in right angles.  We denote this relationship by 
.  
For non-linear objects
One can also discuss perpendicularity of other objects.  If a line 
 intersects a plane 
 at a point 
, we say that 
 if and only if for every line 
 in 
 passing through 
, 
.  
If a plane 
 intersects another plane 
 in a line 
, we say that 
 if and only if:
for line 
 and 
 passing through 
, 
 and 
 implies 
.
Coordinate Plane
Two linear graphs in the Cartesian coordinate plane are perpendicular if and only if one's slope is the negative reciprocal of the other's. This means that their slopes must have a product of 
.