Question

The coordinates of point D are (7, 4) and the coordinates of point E are (1, −3) .

What is the slope of the line that is perpendicular to DE¯¯¯¯¯?



Enter your answer as a simplified fraction in the box.

Answer 1

ANSWER

$- \frac{6}{7}$

EXPLANATION

The given points are

$(x_1,y_1)=(7,4)$
and

$(x_2,y_2)=(1,-3)$

The formula for finding the slope is given by,

$slope = \frac{y_1-y_1}{x_1-x_1}$

We substitute the points to obtain,

$slope = \frac{ - 3 - 4}{1 - 7} = \frac{7}{6}$

The slope of the line that is perpendicular to DE is the negative reciprocal of

$\frac{7}{6}$

Thus, the line perpendicular to DE has slope,

$\frac{ - 1}{ \frac{ 7}{6} } =-\frac{6}{7}$