How do you find the x and y intercepts of #x+5y=-15#?

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Answer 1 · 2017-08-20T17:04:52

See a solution process below:

To find the intercepts substitute #0# for one variable and solve for the other.

x-intercept:

Substitute #0# for #y# and solve for #x#:

#x + 5y = -15# becomes:

#x + (5 * 0) = -15#

#x + 0 = -15#

#x = -15# or #(-15, 0)

y-intercept:

Substitute #0# for #x# and solve for #y#:

#x + 5y = -15# becomes:

#0 + 5y = -15#

#5y = -15#

#(5y)/color(red)(5) = -15/color(red)(5)#

#(color(red)(cancel(color(black)(5)))y)/cancel(color(red)(5)) = -3#

#y = -3# or #(0, -3)#