Elementary Geometry for College Students (6th Edition)

Published by Brooks Cole
ISBN 10: 9781285195698
ISBN 13: 978-1-28519-569-8

Chapter 10 - Section 10.4 - Analytic Proofs - Exercises - Page 465: 27

Answer

$\frac{-a}{b}$

Work Step by Step

The tangent line is perpendicular to the radius. Thus, we first find the slope between the point and the radius: $m= \frac{b}{a}$ The slope of the tangent line is the opposite reciprocal, so we find: $m = \frac{-a}{b}$
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