Find x– and y-intercepts
A straight line is determined if any two different points on the line are known, so finding two different points is enough to graph the line. Two useful points for graphing are the x– and y-intercepts. The x-intercept is the point (if any) where the line intersects the x-axis; likewise, the y-intercept is the point (if any) where the line intersects the y-axis.
The y-value of the point where a line intersects the x-axis is 0. Similarly, the x-value of the point where a line intersects the y-axis is 0. This suggests a method for finding the x– and y– intercepts.
Finding Intercepts
When graphing the equation of a line,
let y 5 0 to find the x-intercept;
let x 5 0 to find the y-intercept.