Another important property of a line (or any curve on a coordinate plane) are its x- and y-intercepts: the points where the line intersects coordinate axes. Watch this lecture series and complete the interactive exercises.
Intercepts from a table
Answers
1.
An \(x\)-intercept is a point on the line that is on the \(x\)-axis, which is a point where the \(y\)-value is \(0\).
For points on a line, a constant change in the \(x\)-value brings a constant change in the \(y\)-value. Let's use this fact to find the point where the \(y\)-value is \(0\).
The table shows that for each increase of \(19\) in \(x\), there's a decrease of \(11\) in \(y\).
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(33\) | \(-22\) |
\(\stackrel{+19}{\longrightarrow} 52\) | \(-33 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-11}\) |
\(\stackrel{+19}{\longrightarrow} 71\) | \(-44 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-11}\) |
Let's start at \((33,-22)\) and extend the table backwards to get to a \(y\)-value of \(0\):
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(33\) | \(-22\) |
\(\stackrel{-19}{\longrightarrow} 14\) | \(-11 \stackrel{-(-11)}{\longleftarrow}\) |
\(\stackrel{-19}{\longrightarrow} -5\) | \(0 \stackrel{-(-11)}{\longleftarrow}\) |
In conclusion, the line's \(x\)-intercept is \((-5,0)\).
To verify, here is the graph of the line. You can see it passes through all the points we've seen, including the \(x\)-intercept at \((-5, 0)\).
2.
A \(y\)-intercept is a point on the line that is on the \(y\)-axis, which is a point where the \(x\)-value is \(0\).
For points on a line, a constant change in the \(x\)-value brings a constant change in the \(y\)-value. Let's use this fact to find the point where the \(x\)-value is \(0\).
The table shows that for each increase of \(7\) in \(x\), there's an increase of \(14\) in \(y\).
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(-28\) | \(-54\) |
\(\stackrel{+7}{\longrightarrow} -21\) | \(-40 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{+14}\) |
\(\stackrel{+7}{\longrightarrow} -14\) | \(-26 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{+14}\) |
Let's start at \((-14,-26)\) and extend the table to get to an \(x\)-value of \(0\):
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(-14\) | \(-26\) |
\(\stackrel{+7}{\longrightarrow} -7\) | \(-12 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{+14}\) |
\(\stackrel{+7}{\longrightarrow} 0\) | \(2 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{+14}\) |
In conclusion, the line's \(y\)-intercept is \((0,2)\).
To verify, here is the graph of the line. You can see it passes through all the points we've seen, including the \(y\)-intercept at \((0,2)\).
3.
An \(x\)-intercept is a point on the line that is on the \(x\)-axis, which is a point where the \(y\)-value is \(0\).
For points on a line, a constant change in the \(x\)-value brings a constant change in the \(y\)-value. Let's use this fact to find the point where the \(y\)-value is \(0\).
The table shows that for each increase of \(15\) in \(x\), there's a decrease of \(10\) in \(y\).
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(-38\) | \(40\) |
\(\stackrel{+15}{\longrightarrow} -23\) | \(30 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-10}\) |
\(\stackrel{+15}{\longrightarrow} -8\) | \(20 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-10}\) |
Let's start at \((-8,20)\)and extend the table to get to a \(y\)-value of \(0\):
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(-8\) | \(20\) |
\(\stackrel{+15}{\longrightarrow} -7\) | \(10 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-10}\) |
\(\stackrel{+15}{\longrightarrow} -22\) | \(0 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-10}\) |
In conclusion, the line's \(x\)-intercept is \((22,0)\).
To verify, here is the graph of the line. You can see it passes through all the points we've seen, including the \(x\)-intercept at \((22, 0) \).
4.
A \(y\)-intercept is a point on the line that is on the \(y\)-axis, which is a point where the \(x\)-value is \(0\).
For points on a line, a constant change in the \(x\)-value brings a constant change in the \(y\)-value. Let's use this fact to find the point where the \(x\)-value is \(0\).
The table shows that for each increase of \(16\) in \(x\), there's an increase of \(5\) in \(y\).
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(32\) | \(40\) |
\(\stackrel{+16}{\longrightarrow} 48\) | \(17 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-5}\) |
\(\stackrel{+16}{\longrightarrow} 64\) | \(12 \stackrel{\longleftarrow}{-5}\) |
Let's start at \((32,22)\)and extend the table backwards to get to an \(x\)-value of \(0\):
\(x\) | \(y\) |
---|---|
\(32\) | \(22\) |
\(\stackrel{-16}{\longrightarrow} 16\) | \(27 \stackrel{-(-5)}{\longleftarrow}\) |
\(\stackrel{-16}{\longrightarrow} 0\) | \(32 \stackrel{-(-5)}{\longleftarrow}\) |
In conclusion, the line's \(y\)-intercept is \((0,32)\).