Why does b stand for y intercept

What is why? The y represents numbers that can vary depending on what is used for x. The b is a single specific number. The rub here is when letters are used as variables, compared to when letters are used as constants. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. We teach it backwards. And we present that first! The exercise defines v as measuring the velocity of the ball.

The intercept value tells me that, when the ball was released, it was launched upward at a speed of feet per second. This value tells me that, for every increase by 1 in my input variable x , I get an increase of 9.

The slope tells me that, fo every increase in the pollution index by one unit say, from a pollution index of 6 to a pollution index of 7 , there are nine or ten more fish deaths during the year. Why "or"? Because the 0. The number of fish found will be a whole number; in this case, that whole number is expected to be either nine or else ten.

The intercept value tells me that, even if the index were zero that is, even if the water were utterly pure , there would still be about fish deaths a year anyway.

Word problems with linear equations that is, with straight-line models almost always work this way: the slope is the rate of change, and the y -intercept is the starting value. I can't, off the top of my head, think of any instance in which this would not be the case.

The main difficulty is usually in interpreting the horizontal variable, especially when that variable is keyed to a certain year. In other words: find the y value when x equals 0.

Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Ben Davis March 23, Why is B used for Y-intercept? What is the Y-intercept of a table? How do you get Y-intercept from a table? How do you find the Y-intercept in an equation? What is the Y intercept in standard form? Improve this question. Mike Pierce. Mike Pierce Mike Pierce 4, 1 1 gold badge 15 15 silver badges 50 50 bronze badges.

See mathforum. Those letters and their order makes sense. The letters that we use are completely irrelevant to the math. It might be an interesting historical question that is worth asking, but I'm concerned that if we attach artificial meaning to the letters, students will focus on that instead of the underlying mathematics. Show 4 more comments. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. I found this thread on Reddit , and this footnote on mathisfun.

The map is probably bogus and I've tried to update my answer accordingly. Show 1 more comment.