Rate of Change

Front

What is the definition of rate of change?

Back

Rate of change is defined as the change in the dependent variable (y) divided by the change in the independent variable (x), or change of y / change of x.

Front

What is the formula to calculate the average rate of change between two points?

Back

Average rate of change = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

Front

If a car travels 60 miles in 1 hour, what is the rate of change of distance with respect to time?

Back

60 miles per hour.

Front

What does a negative rate of change indicate?

Back

A negative rate of change indicates that the dependent variable is decreasing as the independent variable increases.

Front

If the temperature drops from 30°F to 20°F over 2 hours, what is the average rate of change in temperature?

Back

Average rate of change = (20 - 30) / (2 - 0) = -5°F per hour.

Front

What is the average rate of change in the number of fish caught per week between weeks 2 and 5 if 39 fish were caught in week 2 and 78 fish in week 5?

Back

Average rate of change = (78 - 39) / (5 - 2) = 13 fish per week.

Front

How do you interpret a rate of change of 15 feet per minute?

Back

It means that for every minute that passes, the quantity increases by 15 feet.

Front

What is the average rate of change in snowfall from January 8 to January 11 if the snowfall was 3 inches on January 8 and 6 inches on January 11?

Back

Average rate of change = (6 - 3) / (11 - 8) = 1 inch per day.

Front

What does a rate of change of 0 indicate?

Back

A rate of change of 0 indicates that there is no change in the dependent variable as the independent variable changes.

Front

If a graph shows a slope of -3, what does this indicate about the relationship between the variables?

Back

It indicates that as one variable increases, the other variable decreases at a rate of 3 units.