Say you're given a line with a point somewhere along it, and you have to construct a second line perpendicular to the first one through that point. Can it be done? Absolutely! The following example will show you how.
Constructing a perpendicular line through a point on a line.
As you work through this construction, you can refer back to this figure:
Constructing a perpendicular line through a point on a line.- Using any radius r, construct arc (W, r) that intersects line EF at X and Y.
- Using any radius s that's greater than r, construct arc (X, s) and arc (Y, s) intersecting each other at point Z.
- Draw line WZ.
