All HiSET: Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Rate Of Change Of A Function
The graph of a function is given above, with the coordinates of two points on the curve shown. Use the coordinates given to approximate the rate of change of the function between the two points.
The rate of change between two points on a curve can be approximated by calculating the change between two points.
Let be the coordinates of the first point and
be the coordinates of the second point. Then the formula giving approximate rate of change is:
Notice that the numerator is the overall change in y, and the denominator is the overall change in x.
The calculation for the problem proceeds as follows:
Let be the first point and
be the second point. Substitute in the values from these coordinates:
Subtract to get the final answer:
Note that it does not matter which you assign to be the first point and which you assign to be the second, as it will lead to the same value due to negatives canceling out.
Example Question #1 : Estimate Rate Of Change From A Graph
Above is the graph of a function . Estimate the rate of change of
on the interval
The rate of change of a function on the interval
is equal to
.
Set . Refer to the graph of the function below:
The graph passes through and
.
. Thus,
,
the correct response.
Example Question #1 : Estimate Rate Of Change From A Graph
Above is the graph of a function , which is defined and continuous on
. The average rate of change of
on the interval
is 4. Estimate
.
The rate of change of a function on the interval
is equal to
.
Set . Examine the figure below:
The graph passes through the point , so
. Therefore,
and, substituting,
Solve for using algebra:
,
the correct response.
Example Question #1 : Estimate Rate Of Change From A Graph
Above is the graph of a function. The average rate of change of
over the interval
is
. Which of these values comes closest to being a possible value of
?
The average rate of change of a function on the interval
is equal to
.
Restated, it is the slope of the line that passes through and
.
To find the correct value of that answers this question, it suffices to examine the line with slope
through
and find the point among those given that is closest to the line. This line falls 4 units for every 5 horizontal units, so the line looks like this:
The -coordinate of the point of intersection is closer to 2 than to any other of the values in the other four choices. This makes 2 the correct choice.
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