the intercept of a straight line is divided into a transverse intercept and a vertical intercept. the transverse intercept is the abscissa of the intersection of the straight line and the x-axis, and the vertical intercept is the ordinate of the intersection of the straight line and the y-axis. to find the transverse intercept, just set y=0 and find x. to find the longitudinal intercept, just set x=0 and find y. for example, y=x-1, the transverse intercept is 1, and the vertical intercept is -1.

example: draw a straight line in a plane cartesian coordinate system

4x+5y-20=0

the solution begins by calculating the intercepts on the x- and y-axes.

let y=0, we get 4x-20=0, x=5;

that is, the intercept on the x-axis is 5, and the intercept point is a(5,0).

let x=0, we get 5y-20=0, y=4;

that is, the intercept on the y-axis is 4, and the intercept point is b(0,4)