01 If a graph only touches the (x)-axis, will that point give a zero?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Yes
Explanation: A polynomial is zero at an x-value when its graph has the point \((x,0)\). The graph does not have to cross the x-axis from one side to the other. It may simply touch the axis and turn back, as happens when a zero has even multiplicity. Even in that situation, the touching point is still on the x-axis, so its y-coordinate is 0 and the corresponding x-value is a zero.
For example, a graph such as \(y=(x-2)^2\) touches the x-axis at \((2,0)\) and then rises again. Since the function value there is \(0\), 2 is a zero, even though the graph does not cut through the axis. The conditions involving a line or \(y=1\) are unnecessary and incorrect: a line can also touch the axis, and a zero requires \(y=0\), not \(y=1\). Therefore option A, Yes, is correct.