16Hit1600
AlgebraHardy-intercept of a line reflected across the x-axis

Algebra practice question

In the xy-plane, line ℓ has equation 2x − 3y = 12, and line m is the reflection of line ℓ across the x-axis. What is the y-intercept of line m?

Answer: 4

Line ℓ crosses the y-axis where x = 0: −3y = 12, y = −4. Reflecting across the x-axis changes the sign of y, so line m has y-intercept 4.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 6
6 is the x-intercept of ℓ, which the reflection doesn't change.
If you answered -4
−4 is the y-intercept of line ℓ itself.
If you answered -6
−6 reverses the wrong intercept.

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