I need to find the slope of a line that is parallel to the x-axis, completely perpendicular. The answer choices are
A. 0
B. 1
C. undefined
D. infinity
I'm thinking undefined?
And I am thinking: Confusing and contradictory.
If parallel to the x-axis, the line must be horizontal.
Where does the "completely perpendicular" part come into play ??
Btw, a horizontal line has a slope of zero,
the slope of a perpendicular is undefined.
The line is straight up & down
Okay, I meant parallel to the y-axis, so sorry
So is the answer C?
A vertical line has a slope of 0
NOOO!
A vertical line has an undefined slope.
You are correct! The slope of a line parallel to the x-axis is undefined.
To understand why, let's recall the definition of slope. The slope of a line measures its steepness or inclination. It is defined as the ratio of the vertical change (rise) to the horizontal change (run) between any two points on the line.
A line parallel to the x-axis is perfectly horizontal, meaning it has no vertical change or rise. Since the formula for slope involves dividing by the run, which is the horizontal change, we end up with 0/anything, which results in a slope of 0.
However, it's important to note that when a line is perfectly horizontal and has no vertical change, it can also be said to have an undefined slope. This is because division by zero is undefined in mathematics. So, the correct choice is C. undefined.