- #1
greg_rack
Gold Member
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- 79
- Homework Statement
- The straight line with equation , y = mx + 3 where , m > 0, m ≠ 1 is perpendicular to the line with
equation y = px + 2
The lines cut the x-axis at the points L and M respectively. The length of LM is 5 units.
What is the value of m + p given that m > 1?
CARTESIAN PLANE ATTACHED BELOW
- Relevant Equations
- none
I started off by indicating ##p=-\frac{1}{m}## since it's perpendicular. The sum ##m+p## is now ##\frac{m^2-1}{m}##.
Honestly, I can't go beyond that. The interceptions with the y-axis are of course unuseful, I tried algebraically intersecting the two lines but I came up with nothing... and I still can't get how to use that ##LM=5##.