- #1
RJLiberator
Gold Member
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Homework Statement
Find an equation to the plane:
1)Orthogonal to the line r = <t, 2 − 3t, 4> and passing through the origin.
Homework Equations
Equation for a plane: a(x-xi)+b(y-yi)+c(z-zi)=d
The Attempt at a Solution
Okay, so this is really a matter of 'slope' and understanding the values that I am giving.
So we are giving a line:
<0, 2, 4>+t<1,-3,0>
and a point P on the plane at (0,0,0)
I can automatically use the point in our equation of a plane to simplify things to
ax+by+cz=0
Now, I need to find the normal vector of the plane.
So we are giving a line ON THE PLANE, this means that the slope vector of that line is NOT perpendicular to the plane, correct? So I cannot use these values as a,b,c.
That is my first question.
Here's what I did then:
For some reason, I took the cross product of the lines point and the lines slope vector and got the cross product <-12, -4, 2> and the plane became
2(-6x-2y+z)=0
and this seems to work for point <0,2,4> and point <0,0,0>
But I don't think I can do this... :/