Science, Tech, Math › Math How to Find the Y-Intercept of a Parabola Share Flipboard Email Print PeopleImages / Getty Images Math Pre Algebra & Algebra Math Tutorials Geometry Arithmetic Statistics Exponential Decay Worksheets By Grade Resources By Jennifer Ledwith Jennifer Ledwith Math Expert B.B.A., Finance and Economics, University of Oklahoma Jennifer Ledwith is the owner of tutoring and test-preparation company Scholar Ready, LLC and a professional writer, covering math-related topics. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on December 09, 2019 A parabola is a visual representation of a quadratic function. Each parabola contains a y-intercept, the point at which the function crosses the y-axis. Learn the tools you need to find the y-intercept using the graph of a quadratic function and the equation of a quadratic function. Use the Equation to Find the Y-Intercept benjaminec / Getty Images Finding the y-intercept of a parabola can be tricky. Although the y-intercept is hidden, it does exist. Use the equation of the function to find the y-intercept. y = 12x2 + 48x + 49 The y-intercept has two parts: the x-value and the y-value. Note that the x-value is always zero. So, plug in zero for x and solve for y: y = 12(0)2 + 48(0) + 49 (Replace x with 0.) y = 12 * 0 + 0 + 49 (simplify) y = 0 + 0 + 49 (simplify) y = 49 (simplify) The y-intercept is (0, 49). Test Yourself Ulrike Schmitt-Hartmann / Getty Images Find the y-intercept of y = 4x2 - 3x using the following steps: y = 4(0)2 - 3(0) (Replace x with 0.) y = 4* 0 - 0 (simplify) y = 0 - 0 (simplify) y = 0 (simplify) The y-intercept is (0,0). Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Ledwith, Jennifer. "How to Find the Y-Intercept of a Parabola." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/finding-the-y-intercept-of-parabola-2312308. Ledwith, Jennifer. (2020, August 28). How to Find the Y-Intercept of a Parabola. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/finding-the-y-intercept-of-parabola-2312308 Ledwith, Jennifer. "How to Find the Y-Intercept of a Parabola." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/finding-the-y-intercept-of-parabola-2312308 (accessed May 28, 2023). copy citation