Find a line w/ point perpendicular to XY-plane?

[whig4life]

"Find an equation for the line through the point P = (1, 0, −3) and perpendicular
to the xy-plane,"


obviously this includes vector <0, 0, 1>


I am in Calc III and need help understanding how to do this TYPE of problem. Please include step-by-step instructions and any concepts used. Thank you.

 

[tkhunny]

You have two points.

P = (1, 0, -3)

<0, 0, 1>

Q = (1, 0, -2)

What's stopping you?

 

[whig4life]

whats stopping me

You have two points.

P = (1, 0, -3)

<0, 0, 1>

Q = (1, 0, -2)

What's stopping you?

I am stopped by not knowing how to arrive at that conclusion. Is the cross-product involved? I am highly confused.

 

[tkhunny]

I see. Once you have a point, you need only a direction vector. As you pointed out, perpendicular to the x-y plane is pretty obvious.

I'll stick with your notation: P + t<0,0,1> is pretty much what you seek. I'll leave you to formalize it.