#  >> K-12 >> K-12 For Parents

How to Find the Y-intercept With the Slope and a Point

Finding the y-intercept of a line given the slope of the line and a point on the line is a common algebra problem that students must solve. It is important for students to be able to solve this type of problem because it will not only be needed to solve more difficult algebra problems later, but also is a question found on high school exit exams and college entrance exams. Solving for y-intercept is relatively easy as long as you follow a step-by-step methodology that involves the standard form of the equation of a line, y = mx + b.

Instructions

    • 1

      Write down the formula for the equation of a line: y = mx + b, where m is the slope of the line, b is the y-intercept of the line (the point where the line crosses the y-axis), x is the x-coordinate of a point on the line and y is the y-coordinate of a point on the line calculated from a given x coordinate on the line.

    • 2

      Substitute the slope given in the problem for m in the equation. For this example, use a slope of 2 (m = 2) to obtain y = 2x + b.

    • 3

      Substitute the x and y coordinates given in the problem for x and y in the formula for the equation of the line. For this example, use an x coordinate of 3 and a y coordinate of 6 to obtain 6 = 2 * 3 + b. Simplify to obtain 6 = 6 + b.

    • 4

      Solve the resultant equation for b, the y-intercept, by subtracting the number on the right side of the equation from both sides of the equation: 6 - 6 = 6 + b - 6, to obtain the value for the y-intercept, 0 = b.

      Rewrite the result in standard form, where the variable to solve for, b, is on the left side of the equation, obtaining b = 0.

Learnify Hub © www.0685.com All Rights Reserved