Math 1 · Unit 2 · Lesson 4 · part 1 of 5
The Words We Use
The vocabulary for this lesson, in one place.
Words we use
| Word | Plain English | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Intercept | Where the graph crosses an axis. | Find both kinds and say what each means in the story. |
| x-intercept | Where the graph crosses the x-axis. The output is 0 there. | Read the x value. In a story it is often when something reaches zero: lands, empties, breaks even. |
| y-intercept | Where the graph crosses the y-axis. The input is 0 there, so it is the starting value. | Read the y value. In a story it is the amount at the start. |
| Increasing | Climbing as you read left to right. | Say where with an inequality: increasing when 3 < x < 15. |
| Decreasing | Falling as you read left to right. | Say where with an inequality. |
| Positive | Above the x-axis: the output is more than 0. | Say where. A graph can be climbing and still be negative. |
| Negative | Below the x-axis: the output is less than 0. | Say where, and what below zero means in the story. |
| Maximum | The highest point on the graph. | Give the input where it happens and the output value. |
| Minimum | The lowest point on the graph. | Give the input where it happens and the output value. It can be at an end. |
| End behavior | What happens at the far ends, as the inputs get very big (to the right) or very negative (to the left). | Say it plainly first: keeps climbing, keeps falling, levels off. Then name it: as x goes to infinity, y goes to... |