Intercepts & Slope
The x-intercept is where a line crosses the x-axis. At this point, y always equals zero. To find it, set y = 0 in your equation and solve for x. For example, in the equation y = 2x - 3, when you set y = 0, you get x = 1.5, making the x-intercept (1.5, 0).
The y-intercept is where a line crosses the y-axis. At this point, x always equals zero. To find it, substitute x = 0 into your equation. In our example y = 2x - 3, plugging in x = 0 gives y = -3, so the y-intercept is (0, -3).
The slope measures how steep a line is. It's calculated as "rise over run" or the change in y divided by the change in x. For a line through points (2, 3) and (4, 7), the slope is (7-3)/(4-2) = 4/2 = 2.
💡 Think of slope as the "steepness rating" of a line. Positive slopes go uphill from left to right, negative slopes go downhill, and the larger the number, the steeper the line!