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Algebra II Recipe: Writing the Equation for a Perpendicular Bisector

By G Redden

Steps
  1. Find the midpoint of the given segment.

  2. Find the slope of the given segment.

  3. Determine the slope of the perpendicular bisector knowing that the slopes of perpendicular lines are opposites and reciprocals of each other.
  4. Write an equation into point-slope form, y - k = m(x - h), since the slope of the perpendicular bisector and a point (h, k) the bisector goes through is known.
  5. Solve the point-slope equation for y to get y = mx + b.
    • Distribute the slope value.
    • Move the k value to the right side of the equation.
 
1.
Write the equation of the perpendicular bisector of the segment with endpoints (6, 3) and (-4, -2).
Algebra II Recipe: Writing the Equation for a Perpendicular Bisector | AlgebraLab