Pearson Algebra 2 Common Core, 2011
PA
Pearson Algebra 2 Common Core, 2011 View details
5. Using Linear Models
Continue to next subchapter

Exercise 25 Page 98

You'll need to substitute 0 and solve for a variable twice before graphing.

Practice makes perfect

We will graph this equation by finding and plotting its intercepts, then connecting them with a line. To find the x- and y-intercepts, we will need to substitute 0 for one variable, solve, then repeat for the other variable.

Finding the x-intercept

Think of the point where the graph of an equation crosses the x-axis. The y-value of that ( x, y) coordinate pair is equal to 0, and the x-value is the x-intercept. To find the x-intercept of the given equation, we should substitute 0 for y and solve for x.
-2/9x-5/9y=10
-2/9x-5/9( 0)=10
-2/9x=10
-2 x =90
x=-45

An x-intercept of -45 means that the graph passes through the x-axis at the point ( -45,0).

Finding the y-intercept

Let's use the same concept to find the y-intercept. Consider the point where the graph of the equation crosses the y-axis. The x-value of the ( x, y) coordinate pair at the y-intercept is 0. Therefore, substituting 0 for x will give us the y-intercept.
-2/9x-5/9y=10
-2/9( 0)-5/9y=10
-5/9y=10
-5 y =90
y=-18
A y-intercept of -18 means that the graph passes through the y-axis at the point (0, -18).

Graphing the equation

We can now graph the equation by plotting the intercepts and connecting them with a line.