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Investigation

If you are unable to access the applet, complete the Alternate Investigation at the end of this page.

Intercepts

30 January 2014, Created with GeoGebra

The applet shows the x-intercept and the y-intercept of a line. The line can be adjusted by moving the intercepts.

  1. Explore the intercepts.

    1. Try moving the y-intercept. What is the x-value always equal to at the y-intercept?


    2. Try moving the x-intercept. What is the y-value always equal to at the x-intercept?




  2. Use your response from part 1a. to explain why the b-value of y = mx + b represents the y-intercept. (Hint: What happens to the mx-term at the y-intercept?)



  3. Use your response from part 1b. to determine the x-intercept of the graph of y = 3 x + 6. (Hint: What is the value of x when y = 0?)



  4. Use what you've learned to determine the intercepts of the graph of 3 x + 2 y − 12 = 0.



  5. This applet can represent some lines that cannot be expressed in slope-intercept form. Describe such a line.



Alternate Investigation

If you are unable to access the Intercepts applet, complete Investigate Intercepts and General Form on pp. 357 - 358 of Mathematics 10.