Perpendicular Lines Lesson for Kids: Definition & Examples
There are different directions lines can go. They can be up, down, sideways, and at an angle. Sometimes lines will meet or cross each other. In this lesson, we’ll look at perpendicular lines.
Perpendicular Lines
Joseph was hungry and wanted a sandwich. His mother always cut his sandwich into four equal pieces. Sometimes across the middle, sometimes from corner to corner. Either way, there was a perpendicular line cut across the sandwich.
The perpendicular line is a line that crosses another line at a 90° angle. Each corner meets at a 90° angle. This is also known as a right angle.
So, where can we find perpendicular lines? Well, they are everywhere. You can see them in nature, and they are used in geometry. We can find even perpendicular angles in the corners of squares and possibly in triangles. Let’s check out a few examples!
Perpendicular Lines in Math
Perpendicular lines can face any direction.
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Perpendicular lines can face any direction. They can be crossways, up and down, or side-to-side on the page. They do NOT need to be standing straight up from the bottom or side of the page. They just have to be 90° to each other.
In math, if you see perpendicular lines, they will have a little square in the corner to show that this is a perpendicular line with a right angle. They use this square because squares must have perpendicular corner angles to be a square. Rectangles also have corners that are perpendicular. Can you think of other perpendicular lines?
Perpendicular Lines Are Everywhere
Railroad tracks have perpendicular lines.
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