Worked solution
Classify a line relative to a plane before solving
Determine whether each line intersects the plane at a unique point, lies on it, or does not intersect it. If there is a unique intersection, find that point and the angle between the line and plane. All parameters are real.
(a) , .
(b) , .
CJC · Discussion · Question 2
Answer
(a) Unique point ; angle . (b) The line lies on the plane.
(a) Check the direction, then substitute
With normal and direction , , so there is a unique intersection. Substitution gives , hence , . The point is .
(a) Take the complementary angle
Both normal and direction have magnitude . Their angle is rad (5 s.f.), or (3 d.p.). The line–plane angle is rad (3 s.f.), or (1 d.p.).
(b) Distinguish containment from disjoint parallelism
, so the line direction is parallel to the plane. Its base point satisfies . Therefore every point of the line lies on the plane; there is no unique intersection.
Common mistakes
A zero direction-normal dot product does not distinguish a contained line from a disjoint parallel line.