Different Types of Rates of Change of a Function
The rate of change of a function describes the pace of modification that the variables experience with respect to the change in the variables .
The rate of change can be:
- Constant Rate of Change - fixed
Describes a situation in which we will see constant intervals of variables at constant intervals of variables .
In a linear function (a straight line), the rate of change is constant and will be the slope of the function. - Non-constant Rate of Change - not fixed
Describes a situation in which we will see different intervals of variables at constant intervals of variables .
In a function that is not linear (not a straight line), the rate of change will not be constant. Each part of the function will have a different slope.
We can see the rate of change represented in a graph, a table of values, or by creating steps or stairs in the graph of the function.