What is the x-intercept of the graph of y = x2 – 4x + 4?
How would you foil this?
To find the $x$-intercept, we can set $y=0$ and solve for $x$:
$$x^2-4x+4=0$$
To factor, we need to look for two factors of 4 whose sum is -4, and we find:
$$(-2)(-2)=4$$
$$(-2)+(-2)=-4$$
Thus, the factored form is:
$$(x-2)(x-2)=0$$
or:
$$(x-2)^2=0$$
We have a repeated root, of multiplicity 2. Since the multiplicity is even, we know the graph will touch the $x$-axis without passing through it. Equating this factor to zero, we find:
$$x-2=0$$
$$x=2$$
Thus, we know the given graph has one $x$-intercept at $(2,0)$.