Let's do a Review of Intercepts. Recall from the mountain entry Useful Vocabulary, the $x$-intercept is the point on the line that crosses the $x$-axis and the $y$-intercept is the point on the line that crosses the $y$-axis.

Who gives a crap?

Good question. The reason why these points are so important is because the $x$-intercept always has a $y$-coordinate of $0$. And, as you can probably deduce, the $y$-intercept always has an $x$-coordinate that equals $0$. That means that we can find the intercepts by setting either $x$ or $y$ equal to $0$ in the equation.

Example

What are the $x$ and $y$ intercepts of the line with the equation $y=2x-4$?

To find the $x$-intercept, set $y$ to $0$ and solve

$$0 = 2x - 4$$

$$x=2$$

To find the $y$-intercept, set $x$ to $0$ and solve

$$y = 2(0) - 4$$

$$y=-4$$