Let P = (3,7), Q = (-4,2), R = (5,1), S = (-16,-14).

Is parallel to?

1 answer

To determine if two lines are parallel, we need to check if their slopes are equal.

The slope of a line passing through two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is given by the formula:
m = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1)

Let's calculate the slopes of the lines passing through the given points:

For line PQ, the slope is:
m(PQ) = (2 - 7)/(-4 - 3) = -5/-7 = 5/7

For line RS, the slope is:
m(RS) = (1 - (-14))/(5 - (-16)) = 15/21 = 5/7

Since the slopes of lines PQ and RS are equal (both are 5/7), we can conclude that they are parallel.