D’Arcy McGee High School Math CST 10 (MCU414-04) Mr.

Randimbiarison
Learning and Evaluation Situation Module: Functions Topic: Linear Functions

X-Intercept and Y-Intercept

 For a and b non-zero, a line of the form of y = ax + b crosses both the X-Axis and the Y-Axis
 Y-Intercept is the value of the y-coordinate of a point at which the line crosses the Y-axis.
 X-Intercept is the value of the x-coordinate of a point at which the line crosses the X-axis.

To determine the Y-intercept and the Y-intercept given the rule:

Example 1: y = 4x + 6 (which of the form y = ax + b), where a = 4 and b = 6
a) Find the Y-intercept of the above rule.
Solution:
The Y-intercept is the value of the Y-coordinate of a point where the value of the x-coordinate = 0:

 y = 4(0) + 6,  y-int= 6
Therefore, the Y-intercept is 6 or simply the Y-int is equal to the value of b, which is 6, Y-int = 6
b) Find the X-intercept of rule above.
Solution:
The X-intercept is the value of the X-coordinate of a point where the value of the y-coordinate = 0:

Set y = 0 in the equation y = 4x + 6, then solve for x.

 0 = 4x + 6,
-6 = 4x
6 3
= x or x = or x-int = -1.5
4 2
b 6 3
In general, X-int = . In this example, X-int = or by simplifying, X-int = or X-int = -1.5
a 4 2

Therefore the X-Intercept is -1.5

1
Example 2: Find the X-intercept and the Y-intercept of the rule y = -2x + 10

Solution:

b
a) The X-intercept formula is: , where in this case a = -2 and b = 10
a
 (10)
Therefore, X-int =  X-int = 5
2
b
If you do not remember the formula then set y = 0 in the equation y = -2x + 10, then solve for x.
a
This will lead you the same result.

b) The Y-intercept is the value of the Y-coordinate of a point where the value of the x-coordinate is
equal to zero. This value can also be read directly from the equation, which is nothing but the initial
value b = 10.

Therefore, Y-int = 10

FINDING THE RULE GIVEN THE X-int AND THE Y-int

Example 3: The X-int of a linear function is 5, the Y-int is 15. Find the rule of that function.

Solution:
X-int = 5, this means that the line of the linear function crosses the X-Axis at point (5, 0).
Y-int = 15, this means that the line of the linear function crosses the Y-Axis at point (0, 15)

The general form of the rule is: y = ax + b

How to choose the order of two points of the line when calculating the slope?
Between the two points (5, 0) and (0, 15), the point with the smaller x-coordinate value will be (x1, y1)
and the other point will be (x2, y2). Therefore, (x1, y1) = (0, 15) and (x2, y2) = (5, 0)

y 2  y1
a= Finding b using b = y1 – ax1 or b = y2 – ax2
x2  x1
By using b = y1 – ax1
b = 15 – (-3)(0),  b = 15 + 0 or b = 15

a = 0  15 Or simply by using the definition of the Y-intercept: Y-int = b. In

50
other words it`s the value of the Y-coordinate of a point of the line
when its X-coordinate is equal to zero: (0, 15).
Therefore, b = 15
a = -3

Therefore, the rule is y = -3 + 15

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PRACTICE:
1. Find the intercepts for each function.
a) y  3x 12 y-int: x-int:

b) y  2.5x  10 y-int: x-int:

c) y  0.5x  20 y-int: x-int:

2. A linear function has an x-intercept of 16 and a y-intercept of 4. Find the rule, y  ax  b

Rule:

3. A linear function has an x-intercept of -2 and a y-intercept of 7. Find the slope (rate of
change) i.e. the “a”.

4. A linear function has an x-intercept of -10 and a y-intercept of 30. Find the rule, y  ax  b

Rule: