What is the rate of change of the table below?

x | y
1 | 12
2 | 19
3 | 26
4 | 33
5 | 40
6 | 47

1 answer

To find the rate of change of the values in the table, we can calculate the differences in the \( y \) values and divide them by the differences in the \( x \) values.

The rate of change can be calculated using the formula:

\[ \text{Rate of Change} = \frac{\Delta y}{\Delta x} \]

Let's calculate the change in \( y \) for each change in \( x \):

  • From \( x = 1 \) to \( x = 2 \): \( \Delta y = 19 - 12 = 7 \); \( \Delta x = 2 - 1 = 1 \); Rate of Change = \( \frac{7}{1} = 7 \)

  • From \( x = 2 \) to \( x = 3 \): \( \Delta y = 26 - 19 = 7 \); \( \Delta x = 3 - 2 = 1 \); Rate of Change = \( \frac{7}{1} = 7 \)

  • From \( x = 3 \) to \( x = 4 \): \( \Delta y = 33 - 26 = 7 \); \( \Delta x = 4 - 3 = 1 \); Rate of Change = \( \frac{7}{1} = 7 \)

  • From \( x = 4 \) to \( x = 5 \): \( \Delta y = 40 - 33 = 7 \); \( \Delta x = 5 - 4 = 1 \); Rate of Change = \( \frac{7}{1} = 7 \)

  • From \( x = 5 \) to \( x = 6 \): \( \Delta y = 47 - 40 = 7 \); \( \Delta x = 6 - 5 = 1 \); Rate of Change = \( \frac{7}{1} = 7 \)

Thus, the rate of change between each pair of \( x \) values is consistently \( 7 \).

Therefore, the overall rate of change for the data in the table is 7.