Chapter 6

Graphing Linear and

Quadratic Functions
In This Chapter
▶ Enlisting basic graphing techniques
▶ Identifying and graphing the equation of a line
▶ Graphing quadratic functions using vertices and intercepts

G raphing equations is an important part of understanding

just what a function or other relationship represents.
The modern, handheld graphing calculators take care of many
of the details, but you still need to have a general idea of what
the graph should look like so you know how to select a view-
ing window and so you know if you’ve entered something
incorrectly.

Identifying Some Graphing

Techniques
You do most graphing in algebra on the Cartesian coordinate
system — a grid-like system where you plot points depending
on the position and signs of numbers. Within the Cartesian
coordinate system (which is named for the philosopher and
mathematician Rene Descartes), you can plug-and-plot points
to draw a curve, or you can take advantage of knowing a little
something about what the graphs should look like. In either
case, the coordinates and points fit together to give you a
picture.

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Graphing curves can take as long as you like or be as quick

as you like. If you take advantage of the characteristics of the
curves you’re graphing, you can cut down on the time it takes
to graph and improve your accuracy. Two features that you
can quickly recognize and solve for are the intercepts and
symmetry of the graphs.

Finding x- and y-intercepts

The intercepts of a graph appear at the points where the graph
crosses the axes. The graph of a curve may never cross an
axis, but when it does, knowing the points that represent the
intercepts is very helpful.

The x-intercepts always have the format (h, 0) — the

y-coordinate is 0 because the point is on the x-axis. The
y-intercepts have the form (0, k) — the x-coordinate is 0 because
the point is on the y-axis. You find the x- and y-intercepts by
letting y and x, respectively, equal 0. To find the x-intercept(s)
of a curve, you set y equal to 0 and solve a given equation
for x. To find the y-intercept(s) of a curve, you set x equal to 0
and solve the equation for y.

Find the intercepts of the graph of y = –x2 + x + 6.

To find the x-intercepts, let y = 0; you then have the quadratic

equation 0 = –x2 + x + 6 = –(x2 – x – 6). Solve this equation by
factoring it into 0 = –(x – 3) (x + 2). You find two solutions, x
= 3 and –2, so the two x-intercepts are (3, 0) and (–2, 0). (For
more on factoring, see Chapters 1 and 3.)

To find the y-intercept, let x = 0. This gives you the equation

y = –0 + 0 + 6 = 6. The y-intercept, therefore, is (0, 6).

Reflecting on a graph’s symmetry

A graph that’s symmetric with respect to one of the axes
appears to be a mirror image of itself on either side of the
axis. A graph symmetric about the origin appears to be the
same after a 180-degree turn. Figure 6-1 shows three curves
and three symmetries: symmetry with respect to the y-axis
(a), symmetry with respect to the x-axis (b), and symmetry
with respect to the origin (c).

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 Chapter 6: Graphing Linear and Quadratic Functions 63
y y y

x x x

a b c
Figure 6-1: Symmetry in a graph makes for a pretty picture.

Recognizing that the graph of a curve has symmetry helps

you sketch the graph and determine its characteristics. The
following sections outline ways to determine, from a graph’s
equation, if symmetry exists.

With respect to the y-axis (even functions):

✓ If replacing every x with –x doesn’t change the value of y,

the curve is the mirror image of itself over the y-axis. The
graph contains the points (x, y) and (–x, y).
✓ For example, the graph of the equation y = x4 – 3x2 + 1 is
symmetric with respect to the y-axis. If you replace each
x with –x, the equation remains unchanged. Replacing
each x with –x, y = (–x)4 – 3(–x)2 + 1 = x4 – 3x2 + 1.

With respect to the x-axis:

✓ If replacing every y with –y doesn’t change the value of x,

the curve is the mirror image of itself over the x-axis. The
graph contains the points (x, y) and (x, –y).
✓ For example, the graph of is symmetric with
respect to the x-axis. When you replace each y with –y,
the x-value remains unchanged.

With respect to the origin (odd functions):

✓ If replacing every variable with its opposite is the same

as multiplying the entire equation by –1, the curve can
rotate by 180 degrees about the origin and be its own
image. The graph contains the points (x, y) and (–x, –y).
✓ For example, the graph of y = x5 – 10x3 + 9x is symmetric
with respect to the origin. When you replace every x and
y with –x and –y, you get –y = –x5 + 10x3 – 9x, which is the
same as multiplying everything through by –1.

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Mastering the Graphs of Lines

Lines are some of the simplest graphs to sketch. It takes only
two points to determine the one and only line that passes
through them and goes on forever and ever in a space, so one
simple method for graphing lines is to find two points — any
two points — on the line. Another useful method is to use
a point and the slope of the line. The method you choose is
often just a matter of personal preference.

The slope of a line also plays a big role in comparing it with

other lines that run parallel or perpendicular to it. The slopes
are closely related to one another.

Determining the slope of a line

The slope of a line, designated by the letter m, has a compli-
cated math definition, but it’s basically a number — positive,
negative, or zero; large or small — that tells you something
about the steepness and direction of the line. The numerical
value of the slope tells you if the line slowly rises or drops from
left to right or dramatically soars or falls from left to right.

Characterizing a line’s slope

A line can have a positive slope, a negative slope, a zero slope,
or no slope at all. The greater the absolute value (the value
of the number without regard to the sign; in other words, the
distance of the number from 0) of a line’s slope, the steeper
the line is. For example, if the slope is a number between –1
and 1, the line is rather flat. A slope of 0 means that the line is
absolutely horizontal.

A vertical line doesn’t have a slope. This is tied to the fact that
numbers go infinitely high, and math doesn’t have a highest
number — you just say infinity. Only an infinitely high number
can represent a vertical line’s slope, but usually, if you’re talk-
ing about a vertical line, you just say that the slope doesn’t
exist.

Computing a line’s slope

You can determine the slope of a line, m, if you know two
points on the line.

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 Chapter 6: Graphing Linear and Quadratic Functions 65
You find the slope of the line that goes through the points
(x1, y1) and (x2, y2) with the formula .

Find the slope of the line through (–3, 2) and (4, –12).

Use the formula to get . This

line is fairly steep — the absolute value of –2 is 2 — and it falls

as it moves from left to right, which makes its slope negative.

When you use the slope formula, it doesn’t matter which point
you choose to be (x1, y1) — the order of the points doesn’t
matter — but you can’t mix up the order of the two differ-
ent coordinates. You can run a quick check by seeing if the
coordinates of each point are above and below one another.
Also, be sure that the y-coordinates are in the numerator; a
common error is to have the difference of the y-coordinates in
the denominator.

Describing two line equations

I offer two different forms for the equation of a line. The first
is the standard form, written Ax + By = C, with the two vari-
able terms on one side and the constant on the other side.
The other form is the slope-intercept form, written y = mx + b;
the y-value is set equal to the product of the slope, m, and x
added to the y-intercept, b.

Standing up with the standard form

The standard form has more information about the line than
may be immediately apparent. You can determine, just by
looking at the numbers in the equation, the intercepts and
slope of the line.

The line Ax + By = C has

✓ An x-intercept of

✓ A y-intercept of

✓ A slope of

Graph the line 4x + 3y = 12 using the intercepts.

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 66 Algebra II Essentials For Dummies

Plot the intercepts, and

Then draw the line through them. Figure 6-2 shows the two
intercepts and the graph of the line. Note that the line falls as
it moves from left to right, confirming the negative value of
the slope from the formula .

(0,4)

(3,0) x

Figure 6-2: Graphing 4x + 3y = 12, a line written in standard form,

using its intercepts.

Sliding down the slope-intercept form

When the equation of a line is written in the slope-intercept
form, y = mx + b, you have good information right at your
fingertips. The coefficient of the x term, m, is the slope of the
line. And the constant, b, is the y-value of the y-intercept. With
these two bits of information, you can quickly sketch the line.

If you want to graph the line y = 2x + 5, for example, you first

plot the y-intercept, (0, 5), and then “count off” the slope from
that point moving to the right and then up or down. The slope
of the line y = 2x + 5 is 2; think of the 2 as the slope fraction,
with the y-coordinates on top and the x-coordinates on

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 Chapter 6: Graphing Linear and Quadratic Functions 67
bottom. The slope then becomes . So you move one unit to
the right and then two units up, because the slope is positive.

Changing from one form to the other

You can graph lines by using the standard form or the slope-
intercept form of the equations. If you prefer one form to the
other — or if you need a particular form for an application
you’re working on — you can change the equations to your
preferred form by performing simple algebra:

✓ To change the standard form to the slope-intercept form,

you just solve for y.
✓ To change the slope-intercept form to the standard form,
you rewrite the equation with the x and y terms on one
side and then multiply through by a constant to create
integer coefficients and a constant on the other side.

Identifying parallel and

perpendicular lines
Lines are parallel when they never touch — no matter how far
out you draw them. Lines are perpendicular when they inter-
sect at a 90-degree angle. Both of these instances are fairly
easy to spot when you see the lines graphed, but how can you
be sure that the lines are truly parallel or that the angle is really
90 degrees and not 89.9 degrees? The answer lies in the slopes.

Consider two lines, y = m1x + b1 and y = m2x + b2.

Two lines are parallel when their slopes are equal (m1 = m2).
Two lines are perpendicular when their slopes are negative
reciprocals of one another: .

For example, the lines y = 3x + 7 and y = 3x – 2 are parallel.

Both lines have a slope of 3, but their y-intercepts are
different — one crosses the y-axis at 7 and the other at –2. The
lines and are perpendicular. The slopes
are negative reciprocals of one another.

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Coming to Terms with the

Standard Form of a Quadratic
A parabola is the graph of a quadratic function. The graph
is a nice, gentle, U-shaped curve that has points located an
equal distance on either side of a line running up through its
middle — called its axis of symmetry. Parabolas can be turned
upward, downward, left, or right, but parabolas that represent
functions only turn up or down. Here’s the standard form for
the quadratic function:

f(x) = ax2 + bx + c

The coefficients (multipliers of the variables) a, b, and c are

real numbers; a can’t be equal to 0 because you’d no longer
have a quadratic function. There’s meaning in everything —
or nothing!

Starting with “a” in

the standard form
As the lead coefficient of the standard form of the quadratic
function f(x) = ax2 + bx + c, a provides important information:

✓ If a is positive, the graph of the parabola opens upward.

✓ If a is negative, the graph of the parabola opens
downward.
✓ If a has an absolute value greater than 1, the graph of the
parabola is “steep.”
✓ If a has an absolute value less than 1, the graph of the
parabola flattens.

Figure 6-3 shows some representatives of the different direc-

tions and forms that parabolas can take.

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 Chapter 6: Graphing Linear and Quadratic Functions 69

a b

c d

Figure 6-3: Parabolas opening up and down, appearing steep and flat.

The following equations of parabolas demonstrate for you the

effect of the coefficient on the squared term:

✓ y = 4x2 – 3x + 2: You say that this parabola is steep and

opens upward because the lead coefficient is positive
and greater than 1.
✓ : You say that this parabola is flattened
out and opens downward because the lead coefficient
is negative, and the absolute value of the fraction is less
than 1.
✓ y = 0.002x2 + 3: You say that this parabola is flattened
out and opens upward because the lead coefficient is
positive, and the decimal value is less than 1. In fact, the
coefficient is so small that the flattened parabola almost
looks like a horizontal line.

Following “a” with “b” and “c”

Much like the lead coefficient in the quadratic function (see
the previous section), the terms b and c give you plenty of
information. Mainly, the terms tell you a lot if they’re not
there.

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✓ If the second coefficient, b, is 0, the parabola straddles

the y-axis. The parabola’s vertex — the highest or lowest
point on the curve, depending on which way it faces — is
on that axis, and the parabola is symmetric about the
axis. The equation then takes the form y = ax2 + c.
✓ If the last coefficient, c, is 0, the graph of the parabola
goes through the origin — in other words, one of its
intercepts is the origin. The equation then becomes y =
ax2 + bx, which you can easily factor into y = x(ax + b).

Eyeing a Quadratic’s Intercepts

The intercepts of a quadratic function (or any function) are the
points where the graph of the function crosses the x- or y-axis.

Intercepts are very helpful when you’re graphing a parabola.

The points are easy to find because one of the coordinates is
always 0. If you have the intercepts and the vertex, and you
use the symmetry of the parabola, you have a good idea of
what the graph looks like.

Finding the one and

only y-intercept
The y-intercept of a quadratic function is (0, c). A parabola
with the standard equation y = ax2 + bx + c is a function, so by
definition, only one y-value can exist for every x-value. When
x = 0, then y = c and the y-intercept is (0, c).

To find the y-intercepts of the following functions, you let x = 0:

✓ y = 4x2 – 3x + 2: When x = 0, y = 2 (or c = 2). The y-intercept

is (0, 2).
✓ y = –x2 – 5: When x = 0, y = –5 (or c = –5). Don’t let the
missing x term throw you. The y-intercept is (0, –5).
✓ y = x2 + 9x: When x = 0, y = 0. The equation provides no
constant term; you could also say the missing constant
term is 0. The y-intercept is (0, 0).

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Getting at the x-intercepts
You find the x-intercepts of quadratics when you solve for
the zeros, or solutions, of a quadratic equation and find real
number answers. Parabolas with an equation of the standard
form y = ax2 + bx + c open upward or downward and may or
may not have x-intercepts; when the equation 0 = ax2 + bx + c
has no real solutions, then the graph has no x-intercepts.

The coordinates of all x-intercepts have zeros in them. An

x-intercept’s y-value is 0, and you write it in the form (h, 0).
How do you find the value of h? You let y = 0 in the general
equation and then solve for x. You have two options to solve
the equation 0 = ax2 + bx + c:

✓ Use the quadratic formula (see Chapter 3).

✓ Factor the expression and use the multiplication prop-
erty of zero (MPZ; see Chapter 1).

Find the x-intercepts of y = 3x2 + 7x – 40.

Set y equal to 0 and solve the quadratic equation by factoring:

0 = 3x2 + 7x – 40 = (3x – 8)(x + 5)

So or x = –5.

The two x-intercepts are and (–5, 0).

This next example shows how you determine that an equation

has no x-intercept.

Find the x-intercepts of y = –2x2 + 4x – 7.

Set y equal to 0 and you find that the quadratic doesn’t factor.
Then you apply the quadratic formula.

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You see that the value under the radical is negative; there
are no real solutions. Alas, you find no x-intercept for this
parabola.

Finding the Vertex of a Parabola

Quadratic functions, or parabolas, that have the standard
form y = ax2 + bx + c are gentle, U-shaped curves that open
either upward or downward. When the lead coefficient, a, is
a positive number, the parabola opens upward, creating a
minimum value for the function — the function values never
go lower than that minimum. When a is negative, the parabola
opens downward, creating a maximum value for the function —
the function values never go higher than that maximum. The
two extreme values, the minimum and maximum, occur at the
parabola’s vertex. The y-coordinate of the vertex gives you
the numerical value of the extreme — its highest or lowest
point. And the x-coordinate is part of the equation of the axis
of symmetry.

Computing vertex coordinates

Finding the vertex of the parabola representing a quadratic
function is as easy as a, b, c — without the c. Just insert the
coefficients a and b into a formula.

The parabola y = ax2 + bx + c has its vertex when the x-value

is equal to . You plug in the a and b values from the equa-
tion to come up with the x-coordinate, and then you find the
y-coordinate of the vertex by plugging this x-value into the
equation and solving for y.

Find the coordinates of the vertex of y = –3x2 + 12x – 7.

Solving for x, use the coefficients a and b:

You solve for y by putting the x-value back into the equation:

y = –3(2)2 + 12(2) – 7 = –12 + 24 – 7 = 5

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 Chapter 6: Graphing Linear and Quadratic Functions 73
The coordinates of the vertex are (2, 5). This is the highest
point for the parabola, because a is a negative number, which
means the parabola opens downward from this point.

Linking up with the

axis of symmetry
The axis of symmetry of a quadratic function is a vertical line
that runs through the vertex of the parabola and acts as a
mirror — half the parabola rests on one side of the axis, and
half rests on the other. The x-value in the coordinates of the
vertex appears in the equation for the axis of symmetry. For
example, if a vertex has the coordinates (2, 3), the axis of sym-
metry is x = 2. All vertical lines have an equation of the form
x = h. In the case of the axis of symmetry, the h is always the
x-coordinate of the vertex.

Sketching a Graph from the

Available Information
You have all sorts of information available when it comes to a
quadratic function and its graph. You can use the intercepts,
the opening, the steepness, the vertex, the axis of symmetry,
or just some random points to plot the parabola. You don’t
really need all the pieces for each graph; as you practice
sketching these curves, it becomes easier to figure out which
pieces you need for different situations. The example I give,
though, will use all the different possibilities — and each will
just verify all the others.

Sketch the graph of y = x2 – 4x – 5.

First, notice that the equation represents a parabola that

opens upward, because the lead coefficient, a, is positive (+1).
The y-intercept is (0, –5), which you get by plugging in 0
for x. If you set y equal to 0 to solve for the x-intercepts,
you get 0 = x2 – 4x –5, which factors into 0 = (x + 1)(x – 5).
The x-intercepts are (–1, 0) and (5, 0).

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The vertex is found using the formula for the x-coordinate of

the vertex to get . Plug the 2 into the formula for

the parabola, and you find that the vertex is at (2, –9).

Use the axis of symmetry, which is x = 2, to find some points

on either side — to help you with the shape. If you let x = 6,
for example, you find that y = 7. This point is four units to the
right of x = 2; four units to the left of x = 2 is x = –2. The corre-
sponding point is found by putting –2 into the equation for the
parabola; you get (–2, 7).

Use all that information in a graph to produce a sketch of the

parabola (see Figure 6-4).

y
(-2, 7) (6, 7)
x=2

(-1, 0) (5, 0) x

(0, -5) (4, -5)

(2, -9)

Figure 6-4: Using the various pieces of a quadratic as steps for sketching
a graph (y = x 2 – 4x – 5).

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