Slope-intercept form

Students should already know to interpret equations of the form \(y = mx.\) In this section, students will start by learning to interpret \(y = x + b.\) Then students will learn how to interpret equations in slope-intercept form, that is, equations of the form \(y = mx + b.\) Also, students will learn that slope-intercept form cannot describe vertical lines. Here's an excellent video on all that. Next, students will learn how to find the \(x\) and \(y\)-intercepts of lines in slope-intercept form. Finding the \(y\)-intercept is easy, it's just \(b,\) but students will also learn how to find the \(y\) intercept by setting \(x\) equal to zero and evaluating for \(y.\) The \(x\)-intercept can be found similarly, by setting \(y\) equal to zero, then solving for \(x.\) Finding the \(x\)-intercept amounts to solving a two-step equation, which students should already know how to do. After that, students will learn how to identify linear and non-linear functions, first from graphs, then from tables.