Equation of a plane perpendicular to a line

plane-geometryvector analysisvectors

UNDERGRAD: CALCULUS 3 LEVEL QUESTION

I've read this but can't seem to reason it around for the reverse case: finding equation of a plane given a perpendicular line.

I'm looking for an equation for a plane perpendicular to the line $L(t) =(4+3t, 2t, 4t-1)$ that passes through $(5, -4, 2)$.

I tried to find two vectors $u, v$ whose cross product equals $L(t)$ or a vector $u$ whose dot product to $L(t)$ is zero and passes through $(5,-4,2)$ but couldn't (maybe the t is throwing me off). How should I approach this?

Best Answer

Since $L(t) = (4,0,-1) + (3,2,4)t$, the vector $v = (3,2,4)$ is a normal vector to the plane. Then using the given point $(5,-4,2)$, the equation of the plane is

$$0 = 3(x-5) + 2(y+4) + 4(z-2) $$