Equation of a plane
Written by Paul Bourke
March 1989
The standard equation of a plane in 3 space is
Ax + By + Cz + D = 0
The normal to the plane is the vector (A,B,C).
Given three points in space (x1,y1,z1), (x2,y2,z2), (x3,y3,z3) the equation of the plane through these
points is given by the following determinants.
Expanding the above gives
A = y1 (z2 - z3) + y2 (z3 - z1) + y3 (z1> - z2)
B = z1 (x2 - x3) + z2 (x3 - x1) + z3 (x1 - x2)
C = x1 (y2 - y3) + x2 (y3 - y1) + x3 (y1 - y2)
- D = x1 (y2 z3 - y3 z2) + x2 (y3 z1 - y1 z3) + x3 (y1 z2 - y2 z1)
Note that if the points are colinear then the normal (A,B,C) as calculated above will be (0,0,0).
The sign of s = Ax + By + Cz + D determines which side the point (x,y,z) lies with respect to the plane.
If s > 0 then the point lies on the same side as the normal (A,B,C). If s < 0 then it lies on the opposite
side, if s = 0 then the point (x,y,z) lies on the plane.
Alternatively
If vector N is the normal to the plane then all points p on the plane satisfy the following
N . p = k
where . is the dot product between the two vectors.
ie: a . b = (ax,ay,az) . (bx,by,bz) = ax bx + ay by + az bz
Given any point a on the plane
Equation of a plane
file:///F|/Geometry/Display 09 Algorithms/Equation of a plane.htm (1 of 2) [12/22/2000 03:53:21 PM]
N *(p - a) = 0
Equation of a plane
file:///F|/Geometry/Display 09 Algorithms/Equation of a plane.htm (2 of 2) [12/22/2000 03:53:21 PM]