Graphing a Line Using the Intercepts

To graph a linear equation by plotting points, you need to find three points whose coordinates are solutions to the equation. You can use the x- and y- intercepts as two of your three points. Find the intercepts, and then find a third point to ensure accuracy. Make sure the points line up—then draw the line. This method is often the quickest way to graph a line.

Example: How to Graph a Line Using Intercepts

Graph \(–x+2y=6\) using the intercepts.

Solution

The figure shows a table with the general procedure for graphing a line using the intercepts along with a specific example using the equation negative x plus 2y equals 6. Step 1 of the general procedure is “Find the x and y- intercepts of the line. Let y equals 0 and solve for x. Let x equals 0 and solve for y”. Step 1 for the example is a series of statements and equations: “Find the x- intercept. Let y equals 0”, negative x plus 2y equals 6, negative x plus 2(0) equals 6 (where the 0 is red), negative x equals 6, x equals negative 6, “The x- intercept is (negative 6, 0)”, “Find the y- intercept. Let x equals 0”, negative x plus 2y equals 6, negative 0 plus 2y equals 6 (where the 0 is red), 2y equals 6, y equals 3, and “The y- intercept is (0, 3)”.

Step 3 for the example is a table and a graph. The table has four rows and three columns. The first row is a header row and it labels each column. The first column header is “x”, the second is "y", and the third is “(x,y)”. Under the first column are the numbers negative 6, 0 and 2. Under the second column are the numbers 0, 3, and 4. Under the third column are the ordered pairs (negative 6, 0), (0, 3), and (2, 4). The graph has three points on the x- y coordinate plane. The x- axis of the plane runs from negative 7 to 7. The y- axis of the planes runs from negative 7 to 7. Three points are marked at (negative 6, 0), (0, 3), and (2, 4).

Step 4 of the general procedure is “Draw the line.” For the specific example, there is the statement “See the graph” and a graph of a straight line going through three points on the x y- coordinate plane. The x- axis of the plane runs from negative 7 to 7. The y- axis of the planes runs from negative 7 to 7. Three points are marked at (negative 6, 0), (0, 3), and (2, 4). The straight line is drawn through the points (negative 6, 0), (negative 4, 1), (negative 2, 2), (0, 3), (2, 4), (4, 5), and (6, 6).

The steps to graph a linear equation using the intercepts are summarized below.

Graph a linear equation using the intercepts.

Find the x- and y- intercepts of the line.
- Let \(y=0\) and solve for \(x\)
- Let \(x=0\) and solve for \(y\).
Find a third solution to the equation.
Plot the three points and check that they line up.
Draw the line.

Example

Graph \(4x–3y=12\) using the intercepts.

Solution

Find the intercepts and a third point.

The figure shows a series of statements and equations: “Find the x- intercept. Let y equals 0”, 4x minus 3y equals 12, 4x minus 3(0) equals 12 (where the 0 is red), 4x equals 12, x equals 3, “Find the y- intercept. Let x equals 0”, 4x minus 3y equals 12, 4(0) minus 3y equals 12 (where the 0 is red), negative 3y equals 12, y equals negative 4, “third point, let y equals 4”, 4x minus 3y equals 12, 4x minus 3(4) equals 12 (where the second 4 is red), 4x minus 12 equals 12, 4x equals 24, and x equals 6.

We list the points in the table below and show the graph below.

\(4x-3y=12\)
\(x\)	\(y\)	\(\left(x,y\right)\)
3	0	\(\left(3,0\right)\)
0	\(-4\)	\(\left(0,-4\right)\)
6	4	\(\left(6,4\right)\)

The figure shows the graph of a straight line going through three points on the x y- coordinate plane. The x- axis of the plane runs from negative 7 to 7. The y- axis of the planes runs from negative 7 to 7. Three points are marked at (0, negative 4), (3, 0), and (6, 4). The straight line is drawn through the points (0, negative 4), (3, 0), and (6, 4).

Example

Graph \(y=5x\) using the intercepts.

Solution

The figure shows two sets of statements and equations to find the intercepts from an equation. The first set of statements and equations is “x- intercept”, “let y equals 0”, y equals 5x, 0 equals 5x (where the 0 is red), 0 equals x, (0, 0). The second set of statements and equations is “y- intercept”, “let x equals 0”, y equals 5x, y equals 5(0) (where the 0 is red), y equals 0, (0, 0).

This line has only one intercept. It is the point \(\left(0,0\right)\).

To ensure accuracy we need to plot three points. Since the x- and y- intercepts are the same point, we need two more points to graph the line.

The figure shows two sets of statements and equations to find two points from an equation. The first set of statements and equations is “Let x equals 1”, y equals 5x, y equals 5(1) (where the 1 is red), y equals 5. The second set of statements and equations is “Let x equals negative 1”, y equals 5x, y equals 5(negative 1) (where the negative 1 is red), y equals negative 5.

See the table below.

\(y=5x\)
\(x\)	\(y\)	\(\left(x,y\right)\)
0	0	\(\left(0,0\right)\)
1	5	\(\left(1,5\right)\)
\(-1\)	\(-5\)	\(\left(-1,-5\right)\)

Plot the three points, check that they line up, and draw the line.

The figure shows the graph of a straight line going through three points on the x y- coordinate plane. The x- axis of the plane runs from negative 10 to 10. The y- axis of the planes runs from negative 10 to 10. Three points are marked and labeled with their coordinates at (negative 1, negative 5), (0, 0), and (1, 5). The straight line is drawn through the points (negative 1, negative 5), (0, 0), and (1, 5).

This lesson is part of:

Graphs and Equations

View Full Tutorial

Track Your Learning Progress

Sign in to unlock unlimited practice exams, tutorial practice quizzes, personalized weak area practice, AI study assistance with Lexi, and detailed performance analytics.