Understanding and Calculating Rate of Change
The rate of change is a fundamental concept in mathematics and physics that describes how a quantity changes with respect to another quantity. It's essentially a measure of how fast something is changing. In many applications, this "something" is distance, and the "respect to another quantity" is time, leading to the concept of velocity or speed. However, the rate of change can apply to any two variables.
For a function or a set of data points, the average rate of change between two points is calculated by finding the difference in the output values (y-values) divided by the difference in the input values (x-values). This can be represented by the formula:
Average Rate of Change = (Change in Output) / (Change in Input)
If we have two points, (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), the average rate of change is:
(y2 – y1) / (x2 – x1)
This calculator helps you determine the average rate of change between two distinct points.