Let the system of linear equations
$-x+2 y-9 z=7$
$-x+3 y+7 z=9$
$-2 x+y+5 z=8$
$-3 x+y+13 z=\lambda$
has a unique solution $x=\alpha, y=\beta, z=\gamma$. Then the distance of the point
$(\alpha, \beta, \gamma)$ from the plane $2 x-2 y+z=\lambda$ is :
Solution
$$
\begin{aligned}
& -x+2 y-9 z=7-(1) \\\\
& -x+3 y-7 z=9-(2) \\\\
& -2 x+y+5 z=8-(3) \\\\
& (2)-(1) \\\\
& y+16 z=2 \quad(4) \\\\
& (3)-2 \times(1) \\\\
& -3 y+23 z=-6-(5) \\\\
& 3 \times(4)+(5) \\\\
& 71 z=0 \Rightarrow z=0 \\\\
& \quad y=2 \\\\
& (-3,2,0) \rightarrow(\alpha, \beta, \gamma) \\\\
& \text { Put in }-3 x+y+13 z=\lambda \\\\
& \lambda=9+2=11
\end{aligned}
$$
<br/><br/>The equation of the plane is:
<br/><br/>$2x - 2y + z = \lambda$
<br/><br/>We already know that $\lambda = 11$. So the equation of the plane becomes:
<br/><br/>$2x - 2y + z = 11$
<br/><br/>Now, let's find the distance $d$ of the point $(\alpha, \beta, \gamma) = (-3, 2, 0)$ from the plane using the formula :
<br/><br/>$d = \frac{|Ax + By + Cz + D|}{\sqrt{A^2 + B^2 + C^2}}$
<br/><br/>Plugging in the values for the point and the plane equation, we get:
<br/><br/>$$
d = \frac{|2(-3) - 2(2) + 0 - 11|}{\sqrt{2^2 + (-2)^2 + 1^2}} = \frac{|-6 - 4 - 11|}{\sqrt{4 + 4 + 1}} = \frac{21}{\sqrt{9}} = 7
$$
<br/><br/>So, the distance of the point $(-3, 2, 0)$ from the plane $2x - 2y + z = 11$ is 7.
About this question
Subject: Mathematics · Chapter: Three Dimensional Geometry · Topic: Direction Cosines and Ratios
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