How do you calculate rate of change?

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Answer 1 · 2014-11-13T10:08:32

Average Rate of Change

The average rate of change of a function #f(x)# on an interval #[a,b]# can be found by

#("Average Rate of Change")={f(b)-f(a)}/{b-a}#

Example

Find the average rate of change of #f(x)=x^2+3x# on #[1,3]#.

#f(3)=(3)^2+3(3)=18#

#f(1)=(1)^2+3(1)=4#

#("Average Rate of Change")={f(3)-f(1)}/{3-1}={18-4}/{2}=14/2=7#

I hope that this was helpful.