Precalculus

Lesson 4: Finding intercepts from an

equation, understanding symmetry
AGENDA
1. Homework review

2. Finding intercepts from an

equation

3. Understanding symmetry

4. Practice
Homework review
› Did you have any questions
on the homework problems?
– Section 1.2 #13, 17, 27

› Challenge problem: #84.a

– Equation: 16y2 = 120x - 225
– How many x-intercepts does
the graph of this equation
have?
– How many y-intercepts?
– How do you know?
Finding intercepts from an equation
› We know from last class that › Answer
we can solve a two-variable – Find the x-intercept by setting
equation (such as y = 2x + 5) y = 0 and solving for x.
for one variable by choosing a – Find the y-intercept by setting
value for the other. x = 0 and solving for y.
› We also know that
– The y-value of any x-intercept is › Find the intercepts for:
X Y
zero 1. y = 2x + 5
– The x-value of any y-intercept is 2. 3x - y = -6 0
zero 3. -x/2 - y + 4 = 0 0
› How can we find the x- and › Check your answers by
y-intercepts without plotting additional points
graphing?
Practice: (find the intercepts
without plotting points)
Symmetry
› Symmetry = one part is the
same as another
– Symmetric with respect to the
x-axis (horizontal symmetry): the
top is the same as the bottom
– Symmetric with respect to the
y-axis (vertical symmetry): the
right is the same as the left
– Symmetric with respect to the
origin (rotational symmetry): it
looks the same if you rotate it
180 degrees
Symmetry
› Which objects are symmetric with respect to the x-axis, y-axis,
and/or the origin?
Symmetry
› If a graph is symmetric with
respect to the...
– x-axis: for any point (x, y), the
point (x, -y) is also on the graph
› The top (positive y) is the same as
the bottom (negative y)
– y-axis: for any point (x, y), the
point (-x, y) is also on the graph
› The right (positive x) is the same as
the left (negative x)
– origin: for any point (x, y), the
point (-x, -y) is also on the graph
› If you rotate something, up becomes
down and right becomes left
Intro to testing for symmetry
› To test an equation for each
type of symmetry...
– x-axis: replace y with -y
– y-axis: replace x with -x
– origin: replace x with -x and y
with -y
› If it simplifies to the original
equation, it has that type of
symmetry
› You can usually (not always!)
test for symmetry by finding
one point, then testing others
with opposite x/y values
– pick an easy-to-calculate value
for x, e.g. x = 1, and solve for y
› y = 3(1)/(12 + 1) = 3/2 = 1.5
– We know that (1, 1.5) is a
solution to the equation
› x-axis sym: is (1, -1.5) a solution?
› y-axis sym: is (-1, 1.5) a solution?
› origin sym: is (-1, -1.5) a solution?
Practice
Homework
❑ Practice: 61, and 69 (page 18)
Check your answers using the “AN” section at the back of the book
❑ Optional challenge: 84.b (page 18)