ACT Math : How to find x or y intercept

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for ACT Math

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

What are the y and x intercepts of the given equation, respectively?

y = 2x – 2

Possible Answers:

(0, –2), (1, 0)

(0, 0), (0, 0)

(0, –2), (2, 0)

(0, –2), (–2, 0)

(0, 2), (2, 0)

Correct answer:

(0, –2), (1, 0)

Explanation:

The equation is already in slope-intercept form. The y-intercept is (0, –2). Plug in 0 for y and we get the x intercept of (1, 0)

Example Question #1 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

What is the x-intercept of the following line?

y = –3x + 12

Possible Answers:

–4

–1/4

1/4

2

4

Correct answer:

4

Explanation:

The x-intercept occurs when the y-coordinate = 0.

y = –3x + 12

0 = –3x + 12

3x = 12

x = 12/3 = 4

Example Question #1 : X And Y Intercept

What is the \dpi{100} \small x-coordinate of the point in the standard \dpi{100} \small (x,y) coordinate plane at which the two lines \dpi{100} \small y=4x+8 and \dpi{100} \small y=3x-7 intersect?

Possible Answers:

\dpi{100} \small 15

\dpi{100} \small 12

\dpi{100} \small 1

\dpi{100} \small -7

\dpi{100} \small -15

Correct answer:

\dpi{100} \small -15

Explanation:

\dpi{100} \small 4x+8=3x-7

\dpi{100} \small x+8=-7

\dpi{100} \small x=-15

Example Question #2 : X And Y Intercept

What is the -intercept of the line in the standard  coordinate plane that goes through the points  and ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The answer is .

The slope of the line is determined by calculating the change in  over the change in .

The point-slope form of the equation for the line is then

. The -intercept is determined by setting  and solving for . This simplifies to  which shows that  is the -interecept.

Example Question #1 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

What are the  and -intercepts of the line defined by the equation:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the intercepts of a line, we must set the  and  values equal to zero and then solve.  

Example Question #2 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

In the standard (x, y) coordinate plane, a circle has the equation . At what points does the circle intersect the x-axis?

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The generic equation of a circle is (x - x0)2 + (y - y0)2 = r2, where (x0, y0) are the coordinates of the center and r is the radius.

In this case, the circle is centered at the origin with a radius of 8. Therefore the circle hits all points that are a distance of 8 from the origin, which results in coordinates of (8,0) and (-8,0) on the x-axis.

 

Act_math_172_01 

 

 

Example Question #3 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

What is the y-intercept of a line that passes through the point  with slope of ?

 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Point-slope form follows the format y - y1 = m(x - x1).

Using the given point and slope, we can use this formula to get the equation y - 8 = -2(x + 5).

From here, we can find the y-intercept by setting x equal to zero and solving.

y - 8 = -2(0 + 5)

y - 8 = -2(5) = -10

y = -2

Our y-intercept will be (0,-2).

Example Question #4 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

Given the linear equation below, what are the x- and y-intercepts, respectively?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the x-intercept we will need to plug in zero for the y-value.

The x-intercept will be .

To find the y-intercept we will need to plug in zero for the x-value.

The y-intercept will be .

Example Question #5 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

At what point do the lines \small y=\frac{1}{4}x+7 and \small y=4x + 7 intersect?

Possible Answers:

(0,-7)

They\ do\ not\ intersect

(0,0)

(0,7)

(7,0)

Correct answer:

(0,7)

Explanation:

Short way:

The lines intersect somewhere because they have different slopes. Because they have the same y-intercept, they must intersect at that point.

Long way using substitution:

\small y=\frac{1}{4}x+7

\small y-7 = \frac{1}{4}x

\small x = 4y - 28

 

Plug this into \small y=-4x+7

\small y=-4(4y-28)+7

\small y=-16y+112+7

\small 17y=119

\small y=7

 

Find \small x

\small x=4(7)-28=0

Example Question #6 : How To Find X Or Y Intercept

Find the -intercept(s) for the following equation:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the  intercepts,  is set equal to . This yields:

And finally

It is important to realize that both  and  must be included because  is also equal to . Finally, these are put into their point forms,  and .

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