First degree equations graph

Any equation of first degree (i.e. involving only x (andhaving no x2, x3 etc. terms)) can be represented by a straight line graph. The general equation takes the form ... 

We saw in the previous sections that the zeros of the function (the roots) can be found easily if the equations are first- or second-degree equations. But how do we find the roots to equations that are not linear or quadratic Before the age of computers this was not a simple task. One standard way to find the roots of a polynomial equation without using a computer is to graph the function. For example, consider the equation... 

Both these steps rapidly become complicated as the size of the graph of interest increases. Thus, for a graph G having v vertices, the first step requires evaluation of the determinant of a V X V matrix and the second step requires solving an equation of degree v. 

---