How do you find the slope of a line perpendicular to #5x-2y=-1#?

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Answer 1 · 2015-04-01T23:44:58

Remember that given a slope, #m#, the slope perpendicular to it is #-1/m# (the negative of its inverse).

Re-write the given equation #5x-2y= -1# in slope-point form:
#y=5/2x +1/2#

The slope of the given equation is #5/2#
and the slope of a line perpendicular to it is #-2/5#

Answer 2 · 2015-04-01T23:46:43

The slope is: #(-2/5)#

Perpendicular lines' slopes are negative reciprocals.

#y = (5x+1)/2#

The slope of line #y# is: #5/2#

So #m * (5/2) = -1#

We need to find #m# to find the slope of the perpendicular line.

#m = (-2/5)#