Line-Plane Intersection
In analytic geometry, the intersection of a line and a plane can be the empty set, a point or a line:
|
|
|
No Intersection
|
Point Intersection
|
Line Intersection
|
How to find the relationship between a line and a plane.
If the line is
|
A1x+B1y+C1z+D1=0
|
A2x+B2y+C2z+D2=0
|
and the plane is
Form a system with the equations and calculate the ranks.
r = rank of the coefficient matrix
r'= rank of the augmented matrix
The relationship between the line and the plane can be described as follow:
Case 1. Point intersection r=3 and r'=3

|
|
Case 2. No Intersection r=2 and r'=3

|
|
Case 3. Line Intersection r=2 and r'=2

|
State the relationship between the line:
and the plane
Solution:
Form the system of equations and calculate the ranks.
|
 |
|
 |
|
r=3 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
r'=3 |
Point Intersection.
State the relationship between the line:
and the plane
Solution:
Form the system of equations and calculate the ranks.
|
 |
|
 |
=0 |
r=2 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
r'=3 |
The line and plane are parallel. There is no intersection.
State the relationship between the plane