RATES OF CHANGE &

TANGENT LINES
Average Rate of Change
 The average rate of change of a quantity over a
period of time is the slope on that interval of time.
Ex.:
Find the average rate of change of f(x) = x3 – x over
the interval [1, 3].
y
avg. rate of change  m 
x
f (3)  f (1)

3 1
24  0  12

2
Secant & Tangent Lines
 Secant lines touch a graph at two points.
 The slope of a secant line represents the AVERAGE
RATE OF CHANGE of a function over a given
interval.
(5, 7)

y 7  1 3
m  
x 5  1 2

(1, 1)
Secant & Tangent Lines
 A tangent line touches a graph at one point only.
 Tangent lines determine the direction of a body’s
(graph’s) motion at every point along its path.
 Tangent lines represent the INSTANTANEOUS
RATE OF CHANGE. (the slope at an actual point,
not over an interval)
Tangent Lines
 The more secant lines you draw, the closer you are
getting to a tangent line.
 SOUND FAMILIAR TO SOME CONCEPT WE’VE
DONE???
Tangent Lines
 Example: Consider the function f(x) = x2 for x ≥ 0. What is the
slope of the curve at (1, 1)?
The slope at (1, 1) can be approximated by a secant
line through (4, 16).

y 16  1
m 
x 4  1
15

3
5
Tangent Lines
 Example: Consider the function f(x) = x2 for x ≥ 0. What is the
slope of the curve at (1, 1)?
The slope at (1, 1) can be better approximated by a
secant line through (3, 9).

y 9  1
m 
x 3  1
8

2
4
Tangent Lines
 Example: Consider the function f(x) = x2 for x ≥ 0. What is the
slope of the curve at (1, 1)?
The slope at (1, 1) can be even better approximated
by a secant line through (2, 4).

y 4  1
m 
x 2  1
3

1
3
Tangent Lines
 Example: Consider the function f(x) = x2 for x ≥ 0. What is the
slope of the curve at (1, 1)?
An even better approximation for the slope at (1, 1)
would be to use a secant line through (1.1, 1.21).

y 1.21  1
m 
x 1.1  1
0.21
 How long could we
0. 1 continue to do this?
 2.1
Tangent Lines
 Example: Consider the function f(x) = x2 for x ≥ 0. What is the
slope of the curve at (1, 1)?
What about using the point (1+h, (1+h)2) to find the
slope at (1, 1)? (where h is a small change)

y (1  h) 2  1 h( 2  h)
m  
x (1  h)  1 h
(1  2h  h 2 )  1  2h

h
2h  h 2 If h is a small change, I can say
 h 0. Therefore the slope of a
h tangent line at (1, 1) is 2.
Tangent Lines

The slope of the curvey  f  x  at the point P  a, f  a  is:

f a  h   f a 
m  lim
h 0 h

• The slope of a curve at a point is the same as the slope

of the tangent line to the curve at that point.
Tangent Lines
 Example: Find the slope of the parabola y = x2 at
the point where x = 2. Then, write an equation of
the tangent line at this point.
f (2  h)  f (2) 4h  h 2
m  lim  lim
h 0 h h 0 h
(2  h) 2  (2) 2 h( 4  h)
 lim  lim
h 0 h h 0 h
2
( 4  4h  h )  4  lim (4  h)
 lim h 0
h 0 h 4
Tangent Lines
 Example: Find the slope of the parabola at the
point (2, 4). Then, write an equation of the tangent
line at this point.
The slope of a line tangent to the parabola at (2, 4) is m = 4.
To find the equation of the tangent line, use y = mx + b
4  4(2)  b Since m = 4 and b = -4, the
equation of the tangent line is
4  8b y = 4x – 4
4b
 Tangent Lines
 Example:
1
Let f ( x)  . Find the slope of the curve at x = a.
x
aah
f a  h   f a 
m  lim a ( a  h)
h 0 h  lim
1 1
h 0 h
 h
 lim a  h a (get common  lim
denominator) h 0 ha ( a  h)
h 0 h
a  ( a  h) 1 1
 lim 0 2
a ( a  h) h 0 a ( a  h) a
 lim
h 0 h
Tangent Lines
 Example:
1 1
Let f ( x)  . Where does the slope equal ?
x 4
1
We just found that the slope at any point a of f(x) is m  2
a
Therefore, when does
 1 ? 1
2

a 4 Substituting in these a
 4  a 2 values into x in the original
2
function, we see the graph
4a has a slope of -1/4 at
2a (2, 1/2) and (2, -1/2)
Tangent Lines
 The following statements mean the same thing:
 The slope of y = f(x) at x = a
 The slope of the tangent line to y = f(x) at x = a
 The Instantaneous rate of change of f(x) with respect to
x at x = a
f ( a  h)  f ( a )
lim
h 0 h
f ( a  x )  f ( a )
lim
x  0 x
 Normal Lines
The normal line to a curve at a point is the line
that is perpendicular to the tangent line at that
point.Write an equation for the normal to the
Example:
curve f(x) = 4 – x2 at x = 1.
4  1  2h  h 2  3
Slope of tangent line:  lim
h 0 h
f (1  h)  f (1)
m  lim  2h  h 2
h 0 h  lim
h 0 h
(4  (1  h) 2 )  (4  (1) 2 )
 lim h(2  h)
h 0 h  lim
h 0 h
(4  (1  2h  h 2 )  (3)
 lim
h 0 h  lim (2  h)  2
h 0
(Slope of Tangent line)
 Normal Lines
The normal line to a curve at a point is the line
that is perpendicular to the tangent line at that
point.Write an equation for the normal to the
Example:
curve f(x) = 4 – x2 at x = 1.
1
Slope of tangent line  2 Slope of normal 
line
2
Normal Line: y  mx  b
1 Normal Line:
3  (1)  b
2 1 5
y  x
5 2 2
b
2
 Wrapping it Back Together

A rock breaks loose from the top of a tall cliff. What is the
speed of the rock at 2 seconds?
Speed/Velocity is an INSTANTANEOUS RATE OF CHANGE.

Free fall equation: y = 16t2

f (2  h)  f (2)
Inst. Rate of Change  lim
h 0 h
16(2  h) 2  16(2) 2
 lim
h 0 h
16(4  4h  h 2 )  64
 lim
h 0 h
 Wrapping it Back Together
16(4  4h  h 2 )  64
 lim
h 0 h
64  64h  16h 2  64
 lim
h 0 h
64h  16h 2
 lim
h 0 h
16h(4  h)
 lim
h 0 h
 lim 16(4  h) 0  64
h 0