# How to determine the side on which a point lies?

Suppose we have a linear equation and a point in the plane, then how can one determine on which side of the line the point lies?

Let your line be given by $ax+by=d$, and call $\vec n=(a,b)$ the normal vector of the line. Let's label the side $\vec n$ points to $+$ and the opposite side $-$. Then for any point $(x,y)$ in the plane, the sign of $$ax+by-d$$ determines which side the point $(x,y)$ is on. Notice that this is $0$ if and only if $(x,y)$ is on the line, so all points not on the line get $+$ or $-$.

Here's a picture illustrating the situation:

Edit: Oops, the equation should be $ax+b\color{red}{y}=d$ of course...

Are you meaning that you have a point $(x_0,y_0)$ and a line $y=a+b x$ ? If this is the case, compute $y_*=a+b x_0$ and compare $y_*$ to $y_0$. If $y_0 \gt y_*$, then the point is above the line; if $y_0 \lt y_*$, then the point is below the line; If $y_0 = y_*$, then the point is along the line.

Suppose the line is

$$ax+by+c=0\iff y=-\frac abx-\frac cb\;,\;\;b\neq 0\;\;(b=0\;\;\text{is a vertical line and a trivial case})$$

This means a point on the plane is on this straight line iff it is of the form $\;\left(x\,,\,-\frac abx-\frac cb\right)\;$ .

Well, now take a general point $\;P=(\alpha\,,\,\beta)\;$ on the plane , and then

\begin{align*}\beta<-\frac ac\alpha-\frac cb&\implies P\;\;\text{is on the left half plane of the line}\\ \beta>-\frac ac\alpha-\frac cb&\implies P\;\;\text{is on the right half plane of the line}\\ \beta=-\frac ac\alpha-\frac cb&\implies P\;\;\text{is on the line}\end{align*}

• This doesn't make much sense, you're not picking any "side" of your hyperplane this way. – Olivier Bégassat Apr 17 '14 at 10:51
• Am I not, @OlivierBégassat? Then what does "on the left...on the right" mean? When one draws a line on a given plane with the usual convention of axis, there is always "a left" and "a right" of that line (unless it is a horizontal line $\;y=k=$a constant, a particular case easily dealt with). – DonAntonio Apr 17 '14 at 10:53
• My bad, I got confused and for a moment ^^ – Olivier Bégassat Apr 17 '14 at 10:59

Here's a strategy that's independent of how the equation is written.

• Substitute your point ($P$) into the line equation. If equality still holds, then (of course) $P$ lies on the line, and you're done. Otherwise,

• Substitute the origin, $O(0,0)$, into the equation. If $P$ and $O$ violate the equality in the same way (eg, both points making the left-hand side of the equation larger than the right-hand side, or both making the right-hand side larger than the left-hand side), then $P$ and $O$ are on the same side of the line; otherwise, the points are on opposite sides of the line.

Note that this strategy works for curves other than lines.