Question #N68
The graph of the equation $y = 2x^2 + 4x - 6$ intersects the x-axis at two points. What is the sum of the x-coordinates of these two points?
A. -2
B. -1
C. 1
D. 2
Correct Answer is: B
The x-intercepts of the graph occur when y = 0. So, we need to solve the equation $2x^2 + 4x - 6 = 0$. Dividing both sides by 2 gives us $x^2 + 2x - 3 = 0$. Factoring, we get $(x + 3)(x - 1) = 0$. This gives us $x = -3$ or $x = 1$. The sum of these x-coordinates is $-3 + 1 = -2$.