Straight Line Question 340

Question: The number of lines that are parallel to $ 2x+6y+7=0 $ and have an intercept of length 10 between the coordinate axes is

Options:

A)1

B)2

C)4

D)Infinitely many

Show Answer

Answer:

Correct Answer: B

Solution:

  • The equation of any line parallel to $ 2x+6y+7=0 $ is $ 2x+6y+k=0 $ . This meets the axes at $ A( -\frac{k}{2},0 ) $ and $ B( 0,-\frac{k}{6} ) $ . By hypothesis, $ AB=10 $

$ \Rightarrow \sqrt{\frac{k^{2}}{4}+\frac{k^{2}}{36}}=10\Rightarrow \sqrt{\frac{10k^{2}}{36}}=10 $
Þ $ 10k^{2}=3600\Rightarrow k=\pm 6\sqrt{10} $ . Hence there are two lines given by $ 2x+6y\pm 6\sqrt{10}=0 $ .