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Question from Miriam, a student:

write the equation of the line that passes through (6,7) and is perpendicular to 3x+5y=0

Hi Miriam,

I am not sure what form of the equation for a line you are planning on using. If it is $y = m x + b$ then if you know the slope $m$ you can substitute $(x, y) = (6, 7)$ and solve for $b.$ If you plan to use the point slope form of the equation then, since you know a point on the line all you need is the slope. In either case the only fact you need to complete the problem is the slope of the line.

Write the equation of the line $3x + 5y = 0$ in the form $y = mx + b.$ What is the slope of this line? What do you know about the slope of a line that is perpendicular to this line?

Write back if you need more assistance,
Penny

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