Explain how to write a function rule from the table below. Then write a function rule.

x 0 2 4 6
y 2 1 0 –1

1 answer

To write a function rule from the table, we need to determine how the input (x) is related to the output (y). We can see that as x increases by 2, y decreases by 1. This tells us that the function has a constant rate of change of -1/2.

To write the function rule, we can use the slope-intercept form of a linear equation: y = mx + b, where m is the slope and b is the y-intercept. Since the function has a slope of -1/2, we can plug that in: y = (-1/2)x + b. To find b, we can choose any point on the table and substitute the x and y values. For example, if we choose (0,2), we get:

2 = (-1/2)(0) + b
b = 2

So the function rule is:

y = (-1/2)x + 2