Equation of the line of the shortest distance between the lines x ⁡ 1 = y ⁡ - 1 = z ⁡ 1…
Solution
The equation of a line of the shortest distance between the given lines will be along the perpendicular to both the lines.
A line perpendicular to and is,
Let,
Thus, a point on the line is
Similarly, let
Thus, a point on the line is
Now, a vector joining the points is
Let, the vector joining the points is along perpendicular to the two lines.
Hence, and are
proportional and hence on comparing,
Hence, point is
The equation of a line passing through a point and parallel to a vector is
So, the equation of required line is
Asked in: JEE Main 2014 (19 Apr Online)