SMA 1109

GEOMETRY AND LINEAR ALGEBRA

26/09/2025

1. Equation of a Straight Line

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1.

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The straight line through the points A(2, 4) and B(6, 6) is shown in the diagram.
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The point M is where the line AB cuts the x-axis.

(a) Find the equation of the straight line AB.

(b) Use this equation to find the coordinates of the point M .

A
y
SM

B(6, 6)

A(2, 4)

AB

x
M

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Solution 1

(a) Gradient of AB:

6−4 2 1
m= = =
6−2 4 2

Equation of the line:

y = mx + c ⇒ y = 12 x + c

Substitute point A(2, 4) to find c:

4 = 12 (2) + c ⇒ 4=1+c ⇒ c=3

So, the equation of the line is:

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y = 12 x + 3

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(b) To find M , set y = 0:

0 = 12 x + 3 ⇒ 1
2x = −3 ⇒ x = −6

Thus, the coordinates of M are:

11 M (−6, 0)

y
A

B(6, 6)
SM

A(2, 4)

x
M (−6, 0)

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2.

Find the equation of the line passing through point A(2, 3) with slope m = 4.

Solution 2.:

1. Use the point–slope form: y − y1 = m(x − x1 ).

2. Substitute m = 4 and (x1 , y1 ) = (2, 3):

y − 3 = 4(x − 2)

3. Expand the right-hand side:

y − 3 = 4x − 8

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4. Add 3 to both sides to solve for y:

0
y = 4x − 8 + 3 = 4x − 5

Answer:

3.
y = 4x − 5 11
Find the equation of the line with slope m = − 12 and y-intercept c = 5.
A
Solution 3:
SM

1. Use slope–intercept form y = mx + c.

2. Substitute m = − 21 and c = 5:

y = − 12 x + 5

Answer: y = − 12 x + 5

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4.

Find the equation of the line passing through points P (1, 2) and Q(3, 6).

Solution 4.:

y2 − y1
1. Compute the slope m using m = with (x1 , y1 ) = (1, 2) and (x2 , y2 ) = (3, 6):
x2 − x 1
6−2 4
m= = =2
3−1 2
2. Use point–slope form with point P (1, 2):
y − 2 = 2(x − 1)

3. Expand and simplify:

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y − 2 = 2x − 2 y = 2x − 2 + 2 = 2x

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Answer: y = 2x

2. Gradient (Slope)
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5.
A
Find the slope of the line passing through A(2, 5) and B(6, 9).

Solution 5.:
yB − y A 9−5 4
SM

m= = = =1
xB − x A 6−2 4
Answer: m=1

6.

Find the slope of a line perpendicular to the line y = 3x + 7.

Solution 6.:

1. The given line is in slope–intercept form y = mx + c with m = 3.

2. Slopes of perpendicular lines satisfy m1 · m2 = −1. Thus if m1 = 3, then
1 1
m2 = − =−
m1 3

Answer: m = − 13

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7.

Determine whether points A(1, 2), B(3, 6), and C(5, 10) are collinear.

Solution 7.:

1. Compute slope AB:

6−2 4
mAB = = =2
3−1 2

2. Compute slope BC:

10 − 6 4
mBC = = =2
5−3 2

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3. Since mAB = mBC = 2, the three points lie on the same straight line (collinear).

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Answer: Yes — the points are collinear.

3. Intercepts
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8
A
Find the x- and y-intercepts of the line 2x + 3y = 6.

Solution 8.:
SM

1. For x-intercept set y = 0 and solve for x:

2x + 3(0) = 6 x =3

So x-intercept is (3, 0).

2. For y-intercept set x = 0 and solve for y:

2(0) + 3y = 6 y =2

So y-intercept is (0, 2).

Answer: (3, 0) and (0, 2)

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9.

Write the equation of the line with x-intercept = 4 and y-intercept = 6.

Solution 9.:

x y
1. Use intercept form + = 1 where a and b are x- and y-intercepts respectively.
a b
2. Substitute a = 4, b = 6:
x y
+ =1
4 6

3. Multiply through by 12 to clear denominators:

3x + 2y = 12

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Answer: 3x + 2y = 12

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10

Find the y-intercept of the line y = −2x + 7.

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Solution 10:
A
1. The slope–intercept form y = mx + c shows the y-intercept directly as c.

2. Here c = 7, so the y-intercept is (0, 7).

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Answer: (0, 7)

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4. Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

11.

Find the equation of the line parallel to y = 3x + 1 and passing through (2, 4).

Solution 11:

1. The given line has slope m = 3. Any line parallel has the same slope m = 3.
2. Use point–slope with m = 3 and point (2, 4):

y − 4 = 3(x − 2)

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3. Expand and simplify:

y − 4 = 3x − 6 y = 3x − 6 + 4 = 3x − 2

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Answer: y = 3x − 2
11
A
SM

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12.

Find the equation of the line perpendicular to y = 12 x + 5 and passing through (0, 0).

Solution 12.:

1. Given slope m1 = 12 . Perpendicular slope m2 satisfies m1 m2 = −1, so

1 1
m2 = − =− = −2
m1 (1/2)

2. The line passes through the origin (0, 0), so use y = m2 x:

y = −2x

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Answer: y = −2x

0
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Show that lines 2x − 3y = 5 and 3x + 2y = 7 are perpendicular.

Solution 13:
A
1. Put each line in slope–intercept form y = mx + c to read the slope.
2. First line: 2x − 3y = 5 gives
2 5
SM

−3y = −2x + 5 y = x−
3 3
2
so m1 = .
3
3. Second line: 3x + 2y = 7 gives
3 7
2y = −3x + 7 y =− x+
2 2
3
so m2 = − .
2
4. Multiply the slopes:
  
2 3
m1 m2 = − = −1
3 2

Since the product is −1, the lines are perpendicular.

Answer: Yes — they are perpendicular.

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5. Distance between a Point and a Line

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Find the distance between point P (3, 4) and the line 3x + 4y − 10 = 0.

Solution 14.:

|ax1 + by1 + c|
1. Use distance formula d = √ for line ax + by + c = 0.
a2 + b 2
2. Here a = 3, b = 4, c = −10 and point (x1 , y1 ) = (3, 4). Compute numerator:

|ax1 + by1 + c| = |3 · 3 + 4 · 4 − 10| = |9 + 16 − 10| = |15| = 15

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√ √ √ √
3. Denominator: a2 + b2 = 32 + 42 = 9 + 16 = 25 = 5.

0
4. Therefore
15
d= =3

Answer: 3
11 5

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A
Find the distance of the line 4x + 3y = 12 from the origin.
SM

Solution 15:

1. Rewrite the line in standard form ax + by + c = 0: 4x + 3y − 12 = 0, so a = 4, b = 3, c = −12.

2. Use the point (0, 0) in the distance formula:

|a · 0 + b · 0 + c| | − 12| 12 12 12
d= √ =√ =√ =√ =
2
a +b 2 42 + 32 16 + 9 25 5

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Answer:
5

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16

Find the distance of point A(2, −1) from line x − y − 1 = 0.

Solution 16:

1. Here a = 1, b = −1, c = −1, and point (2, −1).

2. Compute numerator:

|ax1 + by1 + c| = |1 · 2 + (−1) · (−1) + (−1)| = |2 + 1 − 1| = |2| = 2

√ p √ √
3. Denominator: a2 + b2 = 12 + (−1)2 = 1+1= 2.
4. Therefore
√

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2
d= √ = 2
2

0
√
Answer: 2

6. Applications in Plane Geometry

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17
A
Find the equation of the median from vertex A(1, 2) of triangle ABC where B(3, 4), C(5, 0).
SM

Solution 17:

1. A median from vertex A goes to the midpoint of the opposite side BC.
2. Compute midpoint M of BC using M = ((xB + xC )/2, (yB + yC )/2):
 
3+5 4+0
M= , = (4, 2)
2 2

3. The median is the line through A(1, 2) and M (4, 2). Compute its slope:
2−2 0
mAM = = =0
4−1 3

4. A slope of 0 means a horizontal line with equation y = constant. Since both points have y = 2, the
equation is

y=2

Answer: y=2

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18

Find the equation of the altitude from vertex A(1, 2) of triangle with B(4, 6) and C(6, 2).

Solution 18:

1. First find slope of side BC:

2−6 −4
mBC = = = −2
6−4 2

2. The altitude from A is perpendicular to BC, so its slope ma satisfies

1 1 1
ma = − =− =
mBC −2 2

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1
3. Use point–slope with ma = 2 and point A(1, 2):

0
y−2= (x − 1)
2

4. Expand and simplify to slope–intercept form:

y−2=
1
2
1
x− y
2
11 =
1
2
1 1
x− +2= x+
2 2
3
2

Answer: y = 12 x + 3
2
A
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SM

Find the centroid of triangle with vertices A(1, 2), B(3, 4), C(5, 6).

Solution 19:

 
xA + xB + xC yA + yB + yC
1. The centroid G has coordinates , .
3 3
2. Compute each coordinate:
1+3+5 9 2+4+6 12
xG = = = 3, yG = = =4
3 3 3 3

Answer: (3, 4)

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20

Show that the diagonals of rectangle A(0, 0), B(4, 0), C(4, 3), D(0, 3) bisect each other.

Solution 20.:

1. Diagonal AC endpoints: A(0, 0) and C(4, 3). Midpoint of AC is

 
0+4 0+3
MAC = , = (2, 1.5)
2 2

2. Diagonal BD endpoints: B(4, 0) and D(0, 3). Midpoint of BD is

 
4+0 0+3
MBD = , = (2, 1.5)
2 2

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3. Since MAC = MBD , the diagonals share the same midpoint and therefore bisect each other.

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Answer: Yes — the diagonals bisect each other at (2, 1.5).

21.
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Find the coordinates of the point dividing the line joining A(2, 3) and B(8, 9) in the ratio 1 : 2 (that is,
AP : P B = 1 : 2).
A
Solution 21:
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1. For internal division with ratio m : n (here m = 1, n = 2) and endpoints A(x1 , y1 ), B(x2 , y2 ), the
coordinates of the point P are
 
mx2 + nx1 my2 + ny1
P = ,
m+n m+n

2. Substitute m = 1, n = 2, A(2, 3) = (x1 , y1 ) and B(8, 9) = (x2 , y2 ):

1·8+2·2 8+4 12 1·9+2·3 9+6 15
xP = = = = 4, yP = = = =5
1+2 3 3 1+2 3 3

3. Hence P = (4, 5).

Answer: (4, 5)

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Exercises
1. Find the equation of the line passing through (5, −2) with slope m = −3.
2. Determine the equation of the line passing through the points (2, 3) and (7, 8).
3. The line y = 2x + 3 is parallel to another line passing through (1, −1). Write its equation.

4. Find the slope of the line that makes an angle of 135◦ with the positive x-axis.
5. Check whether points (0, 0), (2, 4), and (4, 9) are collinear.
6. Find the x- and y-intercepts of the line 5x − 2y = 10.
7. A line passes through (2, 1) and is perpendicular to y = 13 x + 2. Find its equation.

8. Find the distance between the line 6x − 8y + 5 = 0 and the point (−2, 3).
9. Find the coordinates of the centroid of triangle with vertices A(0, 0), B(6, 0), C(3, 9).

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10. The diagonals of a rhombus are 10 cm and 8 cm. Verify that they bisect each other at right angles
using coordinate geometry.

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11
A
SM

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