Steven's school is selling chocolate bars to earn money for new band instruments. The school will receive 33% of the total sales; given by the model y = 0.33x; where x represents total sales. What is the meaning of the x-intercept in the model?
A) the x-intercept cannot be determined
B) the x-intercept represents the schools percentage
C) the x-intercept represents the total sales amount when no money was earned
D) the x-intercept represents the amount of money that was earned when the total of the sales was zero

Question

Steven's school is selling chocolate bars to earn money for new band instruments. The school will receive 33% of the total sales; given by the model y = 0.33x; where x represents total sales. What is the meaning of the x-intercept in the model?
A) the x-intercept cannot be determined 
B) the x-intercept represents the schools percentage 
C) the x-intercept represents the total sales amount when no money was earned 
D) the x-intercept represents the amount of money that was earned when the total of the sales was zero

SmokeyBrown · Answer

If we take the equation as it is, we'll find that the line crosses the x axis at the point, (0,0).
This could lead us to believe that C or D could be the answer. As the graph and the equation tell us, when sales are 0, the money earned is also 0.
Now, if we're interested in the x-axis, we should also be interested in what the x-axis represents. Keeping in mind that x represents the number of sales, would the x-intercept represent the money earned when sales are 0 or the amount of sales when profit is 0?