Section 12.

5 Equations of Lines and Planes

Alveen Chand

Equation of a Straight Line

A line in the xy-plane is determined when a point on the line and the direction of the line (slope of angle of
inclination) are given. This can be extended to three-dimensional case as well.
Definition. Given a point P = (x0 , y0 , z0 ) in 3-space, its position vector is given by

r0 = x0 î + y0 ĵ + z0 k̂ = hx0 , y0 , z0 i.

If another point P = (x, y, z) is provided, then the vector a from point P0 to P is given by
−−→
a = P 0 P = P − P0 .

Definition. Given a point P = (x0 , y0 , z0 ) and directional vector v, the equation of the straight line passing
through P0 in the direction of v is given by
r = r0 + tv.
This is known as a vector equation of the line.
For r0 = hx0 , y0 , z0 i ,r = hx, y, zi and v = ha, b, ci, then we obtain

x = x0 + at, y = y0 + bt, z = z0 + ct .

This is known as the parametric equations of the line.

Since the parameter t is common in all the parametric equations, we obtain
x − x0 y − y0 z − z0
= = .
a b c
This is known as the symmetric equations of the line.
Example. For the straight line passing throught the points A = (2, 4, −3) and B = (3, −1, 1)
1. find the parametric and symmetric equations of the line.
2. At what point does this line intersect the xy-plane?
Solution.
1. Directional vector:
−−→
~v = AB = h1, −5, 4i
Parametric equations:
x = 2 + t, y = 4 − 5t, z = −3 + 4t .
Symmetric Equations:
x−2 y−4 z+3
= = .
1 −5 4
2. Intersection with the xy-plane means z = 0. So
x−2 y−4 3
= = .
1 −5 4
11
This gives x = 4 and y = 14 . So the intersection point is ( 11 1
4 , 4 , 0).

Remark. Skew lines are straight lines which do not intersect and are not parallel with each other in 3-space.

1
Equation of a Plane
A plane is more difficult to describe than a straight line. A plane is determined by a point in a the plane and a
vector which is othogonal to the plane. The vector orthogonal to the plane is known as a normal vector .

Definition. Let P0 = (x0 , y0 , z0 ) be an arbitrary point in the plane, r0 and r be position vectors of P0 and P and
n be a normal vector to the plane. Then the equation of the plane is given by

n · (r − r0 ) = 0.

This is known as the vector equation of the plane.

Let n = ha, b, ci, then
a(x − x0 ) + b(y − y0 ) + c(z − z0 ) = 0
is the scalar equation of the plane through P0 .
By collecting all the like terms, we obtain

ax + by + cz + d = 0

where d = −(ax0 + by0 + cz0 ). This is known as the linear equation of the plane.

Example. Find an equation of the plane through the point (2, 4, −1) with normal vector n = h2, 3, 4i. Find the
intercepts and sketch the plane.
Solution. Equation of the plane: 2x + 3y + 4z = 12.
To find the x-intercept, set y = z = 0 and obtain x = 6. Similarly, the y-intercepts is 4 and z-intercepts is 3.

Example. Find an equation of the plane that passes through the points P = (1, 3, 2), Q = (3, −1, 5) and R =
(5, 2, 0).
Solution. We obtain
−−→
a = P Q = h2, −4, 4i
−→
b = P R = h4, −1, −2i.

Note that a and b both lie in the plane, so their cross product a × b is orthogonal to the plane and can be taken
as the normal vector. Thus
n = a × b = 12î + 20ĵ + 14k̂.
Then the equation of the plane is
6x + 10y + 7z = 50.
Remark. Two planes are parallel if their normal vectors are parallel.
Example. Find the angle between the planes x + y + z = 1 and x − 2y + 3z = 1.

Solution. Then normal vectors are

n1 = h1, 1, 1i
n2 = h1, −2, 3i.

Then  
n1 · n2
θ = cos−1 ≈ 72◦ .
||n1 || ||n2 ||