Rate of Change Exploration

Exploration
Find the gradient of the line below.

In this case, you should have divided the change in y by the change in x .

The graph below shows the distance travelled (metres) by a particle with
respect to time (seconds). Find the gradient of this line.
By considering the variables, explain what you did to find the gradient of this
line.

Therefore, what does the gradient of this line tell us?

The reason for this is that speed is the rate of change of distance with respect
to time. In fact, any gradient is telling us the rate of change of y with respect
to x .
Gradients and Rates of Change
Consider the graphs below. What do they all have in common regarding the
rate of change?

If the rate of change was not constant, what would you expect the graph to
look like?
Describing the Rate of Change
Use the graph to complete the statements below.

The rate of change is zero at point ___.

The rate of change is constant at point ___.

The rate of change is at its greatest at point ___.

The rate of change is increasing at point ___.

The rate of change is decreasing at point ___.

Finding the Rate of Change
Find the rate of change at each of the points below.