(-5,-5)(3,-1) what is the x intercept

Question

find the x- and y-intercept of the line that passes through the given points

Answer 1

First calculate the slope using the two points...
m=(y2-y1)/(x2-x1)
   =(-1-(-5))/(3-(-5))
   =(-1+5)/(3+5)
   =4/8
m=1/2

Now we can use the slope and one point (either one) and
substitute into the "point-intercept" form equation and solve for "b"...
    y=mx+b
   -5=(1/2)(-5)+b...substitute "m, x, y"...
   -5=(-5/2)+b.......simplify
-5/2=b..................add 5/2 both sides
 ∴ b=-5/2 or -2.5
The y-intercept is (0,-2.5)

So our linear equation reads...
y=(1/2)x-2.5.....Eq1

For the x-intercept, let y=0 and solve for x in Eq1...
   0=(1/2)x-2.5
2.5=(1/2)x........add 2.5 both sides
   5=x...............multiply both sides by 2
∴ x=5
The x-intercept is (5,0).