How do you graph linear functions?
Example:

To graph a function such as f(x) = y = 2x + 7, we can select a table of values, plot and connect the points. To fill the table, we choose values for x and use the function to get the values of y as shown in the following table.

x -3.5-2 -1 0 0.5 1 2>
y03578911

The graph of the data in the above table is:


The value of y when x is zero in the function is called the y-intercept and the value of x when y is zero is called the x-intercept. For more information on intercepts, please refer to intercepts

The above graph is a linear function of the form
y = mx + c

where m is the slope of the straight line and c is the y-intercept.
The slope of a straight line passing through two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2) is defined as following:
m = ( y2 - y1 )/(x2 - x1)

For the above graph, slope = 2 and the y-intercept = 7.

Example:

Plot the graph of a linear function 4x - 3y = 12.


Solution:

To plot the graph of a linear function, usually it is sufficient to plot the x and y intercepts of that linear function.
From the above equation, we find that the x-intercept is 3 (i.e. when y = 0) and the y-intercept is -4 (i.e. when x = 0). For convenience, we will also find another point: (x= 6, y=4). Now the graph can be plotted as following: