Please help : Calculus question : What is the AVG rate of change of f(x)= x^2-4x+1?

3 responses so far ↓

• 1 bart6500@pacbell.net // May 17, 2008

  Average rates of change need to be calculated over a defined interval (x1,x2). Just take (f(x2) - f(x1))/(x2-x1);
  Not that this is just the slope of the line connecting the points.

• 2 CwCc // May 17, 2008

  you need an interval over which to find average rate of change.
  the average rate of change is the slope of the secant line;
  on the interval a to b you can write
  [f(b)-f(a)]/(b-a)

• 3 holdm // May 17, 2008

  you need an interval over which to find the average.
  if this is all the reals, the average is 2
  the rate of change is 2x-4
  average over the reals = lim(x->infinity) of the average in the interval (-x, x) = ((2x-4) - (2(-x)-4))/2x = 4x/2x = 2

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