The y -intercept of a line is where the line intersects the y -axis. For instance, consider the line that passes through the point (1,-1) and has a slope of 3. How can we find the y -intercept of this line?

We already know values for x , y and m, so we can just substitute them into the equation y=mx+b and then solve for b : \begin{align*} y &= mx+{\color{blue}b} \\ (-1) &= (3)(1)+{\color{blue}b} \\ -1 &= 3+{\color{blue}b} \\ {\color{blue}b} &= -4 \end{align*}

So, the y -intercept is {\color{blue}b}=-4. The coordinates of the y -intercept are (0,-4).

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Find the y -intercept of the line that passes through the point (-1, 4) and has a slope of 2.

EXPLANATION

Since the line passes through the point (-1,4) and its slope is 2 , we substitute x=-1 , y=4, and m=2 into the equation in slope-intercept form: \eqalign{ y &= mx + b \\ (4) &= (2)(-1) + b \\ 4 &= -2 + b \\ 6 &= b }

So, the y -intercept is b=6. The coordinates of the y -intercept are (0,6).

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Consider the line that has a slope of $4$ and passes through the point $(3, 17).$ What are the coordinates of the $y$-intercept?

a
$\left(0,-5\right)$
b
$\left(0,29\right)$
c
$\left(0,5\right)$
d
$\left(0,19\right)$
e
$\left(0,\dfrac{17}{12}\right)$

Suppose a line has a slope of $-3$ and passes through the point $(7, 13).$ Where does the line cross the $y$-axis?

a
$\left(0,-8\right)$
b
$\left(0,13\right)$
c
$\left(0,8\right)$
d
$\left(0,34\right)$
e
$\left(0,-34\right)$

Consider the line that has a slope of $\dfrac 1 4$ and passes through the point $(12, 6).$ What are the coordinates of the $y$-intercept?

a
$\left(0,6\right)$
b
$\left(0,3\right)$
c
$\left(0,-2\right)$
d
$\left(0,2\right)$
e
$\left(0,-3\right)$

Find the equation of the line that passes through the points (-2,4) and (10,10).

EXPLANATION

We will write the equation of the line in the slope-intercept form y=mx+b. So, we need to work out the slope m and the y -intercept b.

First, we calculate the slope m using the given points: \begin{align} m = \frac{y_2 - y_1}{x_2 - x_1} =\frac{10-4}{10-(-2)} =\frac{6}{12} =\dfrac 1 2 \end{align}

Substituting the slope m=\dfrac 1 2 into the slope-intercept formula y=mx+b, we reach

y = \dfrac 1 2 x + b.

We now need to find the y -intercept b. We can find this by substituting the coordinates of a point on the line. Any point will do, so let's substitute (10,10)\mathbin{:}

\begin{align*} y &= \dfrac 1 2 x + b \\[5pt] 10 &= \dfrac 1 2 \cdot 10 + b\\[5pt] 10 &= 5 + b\\[5pt] b &=10-5\\[5pt] b&=5 \end{align*}

Therefore, the equation of the line is y=\dfrac 1 2 x + 5.

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Determine the equation of the line that passes through the points $(2,7)$ and $(3,11).$

a
$y=4x+1$
b
$y=3x-3$
c
$y=2x-6$
d
$y=3x-1$
e
$y=4x-1$

Find the equation of the line that passes through the points $(4,-5)$ and $(-2,1).$

a
$y=-2x+3$
b
$y=-x+3$
c
$y=-x-3$
d
$y=-x-1$
e
$y=-2x+1$

Find the equation of the line that passes through the points $(1,1)$ and $(3,2).$

a
$y=\dfrac {1}{2}x- \dfrac{3}{2}$
b
$y=2x+ \dfrac{1}{2}$
c
$y=\dfrac {1}{2}x+ 1$
d
$y=2x+ 2$
e
$y=\dfrac {1}{2}x+ \dfrac{1}{2}$

The x -intercept of a line is where the line intersects the x -axis. For instance, consider the line y = 2x - 4 . How can we find the x -intercept of this line?

At the x -intercept, the y -coordinate is equal to 0. So, we can substitute y=0 into the equation and then solve for x\mathbin{:} \begin{align*} y &= 2x-4 \\[3pt] (0) &= 2x-4 \\[3pt] 4 &= 2x \\[3pt] 2 &= x \\[3pt] x &= {\color{blue}2} \end{align*}

Therefore, the x -intercept is x=2. The coordinates of the x -intercept are (2,0).

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Calculate the x -intercept of the line that passes through the point (-3,2) and has a slope of -\dfrac{1}{2}.

EXPLANATION

First, we need to find the equation of the line. We know that m=-\dfrac{1}{2}, so we can write the equation of the line as y=-\dfrac{1}{2}x + b.

It remains to find the y -intercept of the line. We can do that by substituting the point (-3,2) into the equation and solving for b as follows:

\begin{align*} y &= -\dfrac{1}{2}x+b \\[5pt] (2) &= -\dfrac{1}{2}(-3) + b \\[5pt] 2 &= \dfrac{3}{2}+b \\[5pt] \dfrac{1}{2} &= b \end{align*}

So, the equation of the line is y=-\dfrac{1}{2}x+\dfrac{1}{2}.

At the x -intercept, the y -coordinate is equal to 0. So, we can substitute y=0 into the equation and then solve for x\mathbin{:}

\begin{align*} y &= -\dfrac{1}{2}x + \dfrac{1}{2} \\[5pt] 0 &= -\dfrac{1}{2}x + \dfrac{1}{2} \\[5pt] \dfrac{1}{2}x &= \dfrac{1}{2} \\[5pt] x &= 1 \end{align*}

Therefore, the x -intercept is x=1. The coordinates of the x -intercept are (1,0).

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Calculate the $x$-intercept of the line $y=16x+18.$

a
$\dfrac{9}{2}$
b
$-\dfrac{3}{8}$
c
$\dfrac{9}{8}$
d
$-\dfrac{9}{8}$
e
$\dfrac{1}{8}$

Calculate the $x$-intercept of the line $y=-4x-16.$

a
$\dfrac{1}{4}$
b
$4$
c
$-\dfrac{1}{4}$
d
$8$
e
$-4$

Calculate the $x$-intercept of the line that passes through the point $(1,12)$ and has a slope of $3.$

a
$-3$
b
$-2$
c
$9$
d
$6$
e
$3$

A vertical line l passes through the point (-6,3). Calculate the coordinates of the x -intercept of l.

EXPLANATION

On any vertical line, all points have the same x -coordinate.

The x -coordinate of the point (-6,3) is -6, so the x -coordinate of the x -intercept is also -6.

Therefore, the coordinates of the x -intercept are (-6,0).

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A horizontal line $l$ passes through the point $(2,5).$ Calculate the coordinates of the $y$-intercept of $l.$

a
$(2,0)$
b
$(5,0)$
c
$(0,5)$
d
$(0,2)$
e
There is no $y$-intercept

A vertical line $l$ passes through the point $(3,5).$ Calculate the coordinates of the $x$-intercept of $l.$

a
$(5,0)$
b
$(0,3)$
c
$(3,0)$
d
There is no $x$-intercept
e
$(0,5)$

Find the $x$-intercept of $y=4.$

a
$5$
b
$3$
c
There is no $x$-intercept
d
$4$
e
$-4$
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