Question

Determine the number of x-intercepts that appear on a graph of each function.

f (x) = (x + 1)(x - 3)(x - 4)

Thank You!

Answer 1

an x-intercept happens when y=0

so you can try solving 0=f(x), which in this case is a bit more tedious than necessary

you have a multiplication of three terms, the brackets
for the multiplication to result in 0 one of the terms has to be 0

so the question is which of these terms can we make 0 by inserting some value for x:
(x + 1)=0
-> x=-1
(x - 3)=0
-> x=3
(x - 4)=0
-> x=4

so there are 3 x-intercepts, at x=-1, 3 and 4

Answer 2

answer:

3

hope this helps! :o)