Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A straight road follows the line , with and in km. A village stands at . Find the shortest distance from the village to the road, and the coordinates of the point of the road nearest to the village.
The distance of from is . Parallel lines and are apart. The sign of tells the side of the line: the same sign means the same side. The foot of the perpendicular is .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Put the village in. .
Step 2. The distance. km.
Step 3. The foot of the perpendicular. .
Answer: km, at the point km of the road.
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