Intercepts from a linear equation

The  exercise appears under the 8th Grade Math Mission. This exercise finds the x-intercepts on linear graphs.

Types of Problems
There is one type of problem in this exercise:


 * 1) Find the x-intercept of the equation: This problem provides a linear equation written in standard form. The student is asked to find the x-intercept of the equation and provide the answer in an ordered pair slot.Sftx1.png

Strategies
Solving linear equations and substituting values for variables are needed to perform this exercise in the standard way. Graphing could be used to avoid these skills.
 * 1) The x-intercept is found by replacing y with zero and solving.
 * 2) Research indicates the x-intercept is controlled so that the answer is an integer.
 * 3) Since the problem is practically the same, dividing the isolated number on the right by the coefficient to the x will always provide the single number that needs to be inserted.

Real-life applications

 * 1) Problems like this occur on SATs and other standardized tests.
 * 2) Linear models are common in business and the sciences and the x-intercept often provides information about the model.