Use finite differences to determine if each relation is linear or quadratic. x: -4,-3,-2,-1,0,1,2. Y: -3,-1,1,3,5,7,9. What are the second differences?

Answer 1

To find the second differences, we first need to find the first differences:

First differences:
-4 to -3: -3 - (-4) = 1
-3 to -2: 1
-2 to -1: 1
-1 to 0: 1
0 to 1: 1
1 to 2: 1

Second differences:
1 to 1: 0

Since the second differences are all the same (0), the relation is linear.