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How to Find the Intercepts of a Line

The intercepts of a line refer to the points at which it crosses the x- and y-intercepts. The x-intercept occurs where the y-coordinate equals zero and the y-intercept occurs where the x-coordinate equals zero. To find the intercepts, you need set one variable at zero, solve for the other and then repeat with the variables switched. For example, to solve for the x-intercept, plug in zero for the y-coordinate and solve for x. To solve for the y-intercept, plug in zero for the x-coordinate and solve for y.

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Instructions

- 1
  Plug in zero for x in the equation of the line. For example, if your equation is y = 3x - 5, plug in 0 for x to get y = 3*0 - 5.
- 2
  Simplify the equation to find the y-intercept. In this example, 3 times 0 equals 0, 0 minus 5 equals -5, meaning -5 is the y-intercept.
- 3
  Plug in zero for y in the equation. In this example, plug in 0 for y to get 0 = 3x - 5.
- 4
  Simplify the equation to solve for x and find the x-intercept. In this example, add 5 to both sides of the equation to get 5 = 3x then divide both sides by 3 to find x equals 1.67, so the x-intercept equals 1.67.

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