root(s)?

[apple2357]

Quick question about the meaning of the word 'root' in mathematics. I don't mean square root.
Quick search on the internet, and Wolfram alpha says

The roots (sometimes also called "zeros") of an equation f(x)=0

​

​

are the values of

for which the equation is satisfied.

Would it be incorrect to say the points of intersection of two graphs is also a root?

 

[lev888]

Quick question about the meaning of the word 'root' in mathematics. I don't mean square root.
Quick search on the internet, and Wolfram alpha says

The roots (sometimes also called "zeros") of an equation f(x)=0

​

​

are the values of for which the equation is satisfied.

Would it be incorrect to say the points of intersection of two graphs is also a root?

Apples and oranges. Your root definition deals with a particular function and values of x where the function is 0, while the question posits 2 functions and their intersection points. If you define h(x) = f(x) - g(x), then the question would make sense when referring to the roots of h(x), which correspond to the x values of the intersection points.

 

[apple2357]

Apples and oranges. Your root definition deals with a particular function and values of x where the function is 0, while the question posits 2 functions and their intersection points. If you define h(x) = f(x) - g(x), then the question would make sense when referring to the roots of h(x), which correspond to the x values of the intersection points.

Yes that makes sense!