16Hit1600
Advanced MathVery hardAverage rate of change of a quadratic

Advanced Math practice question

The function f is defined by f(x) = x². What is the average rate of change of f between x = 2 and x = 5?

Answer: 7

Average rate of change = (f(5) − f(2))/(5 − 2) = (25 − 4)/3 = 21/3 = 7.

Common wrong answers

If you answered 3
3 is the change in x, not the rate.
If you answered 10
10 is the instantaneous rate at x = 5 (2 × 5), not the average over the interval.
If you answered 21
21 is the total change in f, not the rate; divide by the change in x, which is 3.

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