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| Math Central | Quandaries & Queries |
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Question from megan, a student: When I have problems like y=x(x^2-3), to find the x- and y-intercepts, I set each one to 0. But where do I go from there? |
Hi Megan,
If you set x = 0 then the equation becomes
y = 0(02 - 3) = 0
and hence the only y-intercept is y = 0.
Now set y = 0. The equation becomes
x(x2 - 3) = 0
Solve for x. You should get three values. These are the x-intercepts.
I hope this helps,
Penny
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