Vertical Line Math Definition

Vertical lines help determine if a relation is a function in math.

Vertical line math definition.

Meaning of vertical line test. Its cousin is the horizontal line which runs left to right across the page. That is every x value of a function must be paired to a single y value. In mathematics the vertical line test is a visual way to determine if a curve is a graph of a function or not.

For instance in the graph below the vertical line has the equation x 2 as you can see in the picture below the line goes straight up and down at x 2. The equation of a vertical line always takes the form x k where k is any number and k is also the x intercept. In geometry a vertical line is one which runs from up and down the page. Sheffer stroke in logic verti bar vbar stick vertical line vertical slash bar pike or pipe and several variants on these names it is occasionally considered an allograph of broken bar see below.

In the figure above drag either point and note that the line is vertical when they both have the same x coordinate. In math the y axis is considered vertical. Vertical line test definition vertical line test is relation between two terms like between x and y term vertical line test is graphical representation to determine if a relation is function or not. Also vertical lines are perpendicular to the x axis.

Really clear math lessons pre algebra algebra precalculus cool math games online graphing calculators geometry art fractals polyhedra parents and teachers areas too. What does vertical line test mean. Vertical lines in math. A vertical line is one the goes straight up and down parallel to the y axis of the coordinate plane.

If we think of a vertical line as an infinite set of x values then intersecting the graph of a relation at exactly one point by a vertical line implies that a single x value is only paired to a unique value of y. Vertical line test a method used to check whether or not a relation is a function. The vertical bar is a glyph with various uses in mathematics computing and typography it has many names often related to particular meanings. Hence any line parallel to the y axis is a vertical line.

A function can only have one output y for each unique input x if a vertical line intersects a curve on an xy plane more than once then for one value of x the curve has more than one value of y and so the curve does not represent a function. If the graph of a function can only have one output for each unique input then relation is function otherwise not. Given below are some examples. A vertical line is perpendicular to a horizontal line.

The vertical line test 1 cool math has free online cool math lessons cool math games and fun math activities. In mathematics the vertical line test is a test to determine if a curve is a relation or graph of a function when the function s domain and range correspond to the x and y axis of the cartesian coordinate. Vertical angles vertical angles are different use of the word vertical.