Math Is Fun Forum

reconsideryouranswer

Member

Registered: 2011-05-11

Posts: 171

Sufficient condition left out about parallel lines

From:

http://www.mathsisfun.com/algebra/line-parallel-perpendicular.html

"Parallel Lines

How do you know if two lines are parallel?

Their slopes are the same!"

The lines must also have different y-intercepts, else they are the
same line.

So, if you know that their slopes are the same, then you don't
(automatically) know if they are parallel lines or not.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit:

On parallel vertical lines:

"a vertical line is parallel to another vertical line."

No, for example, x = -2 is a vertical line, and

3x + 6 = 0 is another vertical line.  These lines
are not parallel to each other because they are the
same line.

Distinct vertical lines are parallel to each other.

Last edited by reconsideryouranswer (2011-11-25 18:01:32)

---

Signature line:

I wish a had a more interesting signature line.

MathsIsFun

Administrator

Registered: 2005-01-21

Posts: 7,711

Re: Sufficient condition left out about parallel lines

Thank you. Will review that page.

---

"The physicists defer only to mathematicians, and the mathematicians defer only to God ..."  - Leon M. Lederman

anonimnystefy

Real Member

From: Harlan's World

Registered: 2011-05-23

Posts: 16,049

Re: Sufficient condition left out about parallel lines

Actually,tge definition of when two lines are parallel is when they are in the same plane and they do not intersect. I.e. A line is always parallel to itself.

---

“Here lies the reader who will never open this book. He is forever dead.
“Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most.” ― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment
The knowledge of some things as a function of age is a delta function.