AlgebraEasy–MediumSum of a line's intercepts
Algebra practice question
In the xy-plane, the line y = 3x − 6 crosses the x-axis at (p, 0) and the y-axis at (0, q). What is the value of p + q?
Answer: -4
y = 0 gives 3x = 6, so p = 2; x = 0 gives q = −6. Then p + q = −4.
Common wrong answers
- If you answered 4
- 4 has the sign of q wrong.
- If you answered 8
- 8 uses q = 6.
- If you answered -8
- −8 uses p = −2.
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