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jmc

algebra senior

Problem

How many -intercepts does the graph of the parabola have?
Solution
A -intercept is a point on the graph that lies on the -axis, so . Hence, the number of -intercepts corresponds to the number of real solutions of the quadratic equation . The discriminant of this quadratic equation is , which is negative, so the quadratic has no real roots. Therefore, the number of -intercepts is .

Final answer
0