In this lesson, you will practice finding intercepts and zeros of linear functions. There are two types of intercepts: x-intercepts and y-intercepts. When you learned how to write an equation in slope-intercept form, the y-intercept was listed as b. The y-intercept is where the graph crossed the y-axis.

y = mx + b

The x-intercept is where the graph crossed the x-axis.  What about the zeros of the linear function? The zero of the function is where the y-value is zero.

All three of these concepts can be seen looking at a linear graph. Follow these directions to find the intercepts and the zero.

1. Look for the y-intercept where the graph crosses the y-axis.
2. Look for the x-intercept where the graph crosses the x-axis.
3. Look for the zeros of the linear function where the y-value is zero.

Did you notice something unusual about steps 2 and 3? When you find where the x-intercept is located, the y-value is zero! That means that the zero of the linear function is the x-value of the x-intercept. So once you find #2 you can easily find #3.