How to Draw Perpendicular Line From a Point

Perpendicular at a point on a line

This page shows how to draw a perpendicular at a point on a line with compass and straightedge or ruler. It works by effectively creating two congruent triangles and then drawing a line between their vertices.

Printable step-by-step instructions

The above animation is available as a printable step-by-step instruction sheet, which can be used for making handouts or when a computer is not available.

Proof

This construction works by effectively building two congruent triangles. The image below is the final drawing above with the red lines added.

	Argument	Reason
1	Segment KP is congruent to KQ	They were both drawn with the same compass width
2	Segment PR is congruent to QR	They were both drawn with the same compass width
3	Triangles ∆KRP and ∆KRQ are congruent	Three sides congruent (sss). KR is common to both.
4	Angles PKR, QKR are congruent	CPCTC. Corresponding parts of congruent triangles are congruent
5	Angles PKR QKR are both 90°	They are a linear pair and (so add to 180°) and congruent (so each must be 90°)

- Q.E.D

Try it yourself

Click here for a printable construction worksheet containing two 'perpendiculars from a point' problems to try. When you get to the page, use the browser print command to print as many as you wish. The printed output is not copyright.

Other constructions pages on this site

List of printable constructions worksheets

Lines

Introduction to constructions
Copy a line segment
Sum of n line segments
Difference of two line segments
Perpendicular bisector of a line segment
Perpendicular from a line at a point
Perpendicular from a line through a point
Perpendicular from endpoint of a ray
Divide a segment into n equal parts
Parallel line through a point (angle copy)
Parallel line through a point (rhombus)
Parallel line through a point (translation)

Angles

Bisecting an angle
Copy an angle
Construct a 30° angle
Construct a 45° angle
Construct a 60° angle
Construct a 90° angle (right angle)
Sum of n angles
Difference of two angles
Supplementary angle
Complementary angle
Constructing 75° 105° 120° 135° 150° angles and more

Triangles

Copy a triangle
Isosceles triangle, given base and side
Isosceles triangle, given base and altitude
Isosceles triangle, given leg and apex angle
Equilateral triangle
30-60-90 triangle, given the hypotenuse
Triangle, given 3 sides (sss)
Triangle, given one side and adjacent angles (asa)
Triangle, given two angles and non-included side (aas)
Triangle, given two sides and included angle (sas)
Triangle medians
Triangle midsegment
Triangle altitude
Triangle altitude (outside case)

Right triangles

Right Triangle, given one leg and hypotenuse (HL)
Right Triangle, given both legs (LL)
Right Triangle, given hypotenuse and one angle (HA)
Right Triangle, given one leg and one angle (LA)

Triangle Centers

Triangle incenter
Triangle circumcenter
Triangle orthocenter
Triangle centroid

Circles, Arcs and Ellipses

Finding the center of a circle
Circle given 3 points
Tangent at a point on the circle
Tangents through an external point
Tangents to two circles (external)
Tangents to two circles (internal)
Incircle of a triangle
Focus points of a given ellipse
Circumcircle of a triangle

Polygons

Square given one side
Square inscribed in a circle
Hexagon given one side
Hexagon inscribed in a given circle
Pentagon inscribed in a given circle

Non-Euclidean constructions

Construct an ellipse with string and pins
Find the center of a circle with any right-angled object

How to Draw Perpendicular Line From a Point

Source: https://www.mathopenref.com/constperplinepoint.html