O is the origin and A is (a, b, c). Find the direction cosines of the line OA and the equation of plane through A at right angle to OA.
We are given with points,
Origin O(0, 0, 0) and point A(a, b, c).
Here, a, b, c are direction ratios.
We need to find:
(a). Direction cosines of line OA.
(b). Equation of plane through A at right angle to OA.
Let us start from (a).
(a). The given points are A(a, b, c) and O(0, 0, 0). Then,
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We know that,
If (a, b, c) are direction ratios of a given vector, then its direction cosines are
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As in the question,
Direction ratios are (a, b, c), then direction cosines of
are
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Now, let us solve (b).
(b). It is given in the question that the plane is perpendicular to OA.
And we know that,
A normal is an object such as a line or vector that is perpendicular to a given object.
So, we can say that,
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[∵,
]
Also,
Vector equation of a plane where
is the normal to the plane and passing through
is,
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Where,
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Here, A(a, b, c) is the given point in the plane.
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Substituting the respective vectors, we get
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⇒ a(x – a) + b(y – b) + c(z – c) = 0
We can either further simplify or leave it as be.
From simplifying, we get
⇒ ax – a2 + by – b2 + cz – c2 = 0
⇒ ax + by + cz – a2 – b2 – c2 = 0
⇒ a2 + b2 + c2 = ax + by + cz
Thus, the required equation of the plane is a2 + b2 + c2 = ax + by + cz.
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