Trigonometry Examples

$(- 2, 3)$ , $(4, 15)$

Step 1

Slope is equal to the change in $y$ over the change in $x$ , or rise over run.

$m = \frac{change in y}{change in x}$

Step 2

The change in $x$ is equal to the difference in x-coordinates (also called run), and the change in $y$ is equal to the difference in y-coordinates (also called rise).

$m = \frac{y_{2} - y_{1}}{x_{2} - x_{1}}$

Step 3

Substitute in the values of $x$ and $y$ into the equation to find the slope.

$m = \frac{15 - (3)}{4 - (- 2)}$

Step 4

Simplify.

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Step 4.1

Simplify the numerator.

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Step 4.1.1

Multiply $- 1$ by $3$ .

$m = \frac{15 - 3}{4 - (- 2)}$

Step 4.1.2

Subtract $3$ from $15$ .

$m = \frac{12}{4 - (- 2)}$

Step 4.2

Simplify the denominator.

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Step 4.2.1

Multiply $- 1$ by $- 2$ .

$m = \frac{12}{4 + 2}$

Step 4.2.2

Add $4$ and $2$ .

$m = \frac{12}{6}$

Step 4.3

Divide $12$ by $6$ .

$m = 2$

Step 5

The slope of a perpendicular line is the negative reciprocal of the slope of the line that passes through the two given points.

$m_{perpendicular} = - \frac{1}{m}$

Step 6

The slope of the perpendicular line is $- \frac{1}{2}$ .

$m_{perpendicular} = - \frac{1}{2}$

Step 7