Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
Average rate of change is the same thing as the slope. This is a quadratic so the slope is not something that is constant like it is in a line. Here you have the x coordinates of 1 and 5; each one of these x coordinates has a y coordinate that goes with it. If we draw a line from one of these coordinates to another, that line will have a slope. That is the slope we are trying to find. Thus, we need the y coordinates that go with each of these x coordinates. To do that, plug x into the equation and do the math to find y:
Let's start with x = 1.
f(1) = [tex]17-(1)^2[/tex] so
f(1) = 16 and the coordinate is (1, 16).
f(5) = [tex]17-(5)^2[/tex] so
f(5) = -8 and the coordinate is (5, -8). Now we apply the slope formula:
[tex]m=\frac{-8-16}{5-1}=\frac{-24}{4}=-6[/tex] So the answer is -6.
