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Finding Intercepts From an Equation

X Intercept: where the graph of an equation crosses the x-axis

Y Intercept: where the graph of an equation crosses the y-axis

To find the intercepts:

When you want the x intercepts (x,0):

Set y=0 then solve for x
When you want the y intercepts (0,y):
Set x=0 then solve for y

Example: Find the intercepts of y = x2 4

x intercept: set y=0

0 = x2 4
x2 = 4
x = 2 or 2
The points are (2,0) and (2,0)
y intercept: set x=0

y = 02 4
y = 4

The point is (0,-4)

And here is the graph of x2 - 4 to confirm what we found:

Example: Find the intercepts of x2 5x + y2 + 3y = 0

x intercept: set y=0

x2 5x + 0 + 0 = 0
x(x5) = 0
x = 0 and 5
The points are (0,0) and (5,0)
y intercept: set x=0

0 0 + y2 + 3y = 0
y(y+3) = 0
y = 0 or 3
The points are (0,0) and (0,3)

So there are a total of 3 points:

(0,0), (5,0) and (0, 3)

And here is the graph ... it's a circle!

Question 1 Question 2 Question 3 Question 4 Question 5

Question 6 Question 7 Question 8 Question 9 Question 10

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