SOLUTION: Find the x and y-intercepts of in terms of the constants a, b and c for these relations. ax+by=c

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Question 1107923: Find the x and y-intercepts of in terms of the constants a, b and c for these relations.
ax+by=c

Answer by Theo(13342) (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
your x-intercept is the value of x when y is equal to 0.

start with ax + by = c
set y = 0.
equation becomes ax = c
solve for x to get x = c/a.

your y-intercept is the value of y when x is equal to 0.

start with ax + by = c
set x = 0.
equation becomes by = c.
solve for y to get y = c/b.

let's see how this works.

our equation if 5x + 10y = 30

set y = 0 and the equation becomes 5x = 30
solve for x to get x = 6.
that's your x-intercept.

set x = 0 and the equation becomes 10y = 30
solve for y to get y = 3.
that's your y-intercept.

we said that x-intercept = c/a and y-intercept = c/b.

when the equation is 5x + 10y = 30, we get a=5, b=10, c=30.

x-intercept = c/a = 30/5 = 6.
y-intercept = c/b = 30/10 =3.

it all checks out.

the graph of the equation looks like this:

the coordinate points are in (x,y) format.

the y-intercept is at the point (0,3).
that's the value of y when the value of x is equal to 0.

the x-intercept is at the point (6,0).
that's the value of x when the value of y is equal to 0.