Normal Line

1 min read Updated Fri Apr 24 2026 07:36:29 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Let f:R2Rf: \mathbb{R}^2 \to \mathbb{R}. Normal line at point PP, is the line passing through PP and perpendicular to the tangent plane. The equation of the normal line is:

xx0Fx(x0,y0,z0)=yy0Fy(x0,y0,z0)\frac{x − x_0}{F_x(x_0,y_0,z_0)}= \frac{y − y_0}{F_y(x_0,y_0,z_0)}

To a surface level

Let

  • F(x,y,z)F(x,y,z) is a 3-variable function
  • SS is the level surface of FF at F(x,y,z)=kF(x,y,z)=k
  • P=(x0,y0,z0)P = (x_0,y_0,z_0) be a point on SS

Normal line to the surface SS at point PP, is the line passing through PP and perpendicular to the tangent plane. The equation of the normal line is:

xx0Fx(x0,y0,z0)=yy0Fy(x0,y0,z0)=zz0Fz(x0,y0,z0)\frac{x − x_0}{F_x(x_0,y_0,z_0)}= \frac{y − y_0}{F_y(x_0,y_0,z_0)}= \frac{z − z_0}{F_z(x_0,y_0,z_0)}