To understand what happens to the x-intercepts of the function \( y = x^2 - 25 \) when reflected over the x-axis, let's first identify the x-intercepts of the original function.
The x-intercepts are found by setting \( y = 0 \):
\[ 0 = x^2 - 25 \]
This can be factored as:
\[ 0 = (x - 5)(x + 5) \]
Thus, the x-intercepts are \( x = 5 \) and \( x = -5 \).
Now, reflecting the graph of the function over the x-axis involves negating the y-values. The new equation will be:
\[ y = -(x^2 - 25) = -x^2 + 25 \]
To find the new x-intercepts, we again set \( y = 0 \):
\[ 0 = -x^2 + 25 \]
This can be rewritten as:
\[ x^2 = 25 \]
Taking the square root gives:
\[ x = 5 \quad \text{or} \quad x = -5 \]
So, even after the reflection, the x-intercepts remain the same, \( x = 5 \) and \( x = -5 \).
The correct response is:
The x-intercepts remain the same because the y-values get negated during a reflection over the x-axis.