What Is the Average Rate of Change in Calculus?

By Staff WriterLast Updated April 14, 2020

The average rate of change in calculus refers to the slope of a secant line that connects two points. In calculus, this equation often involves functions, as opposed to simple points on a graph, as is common in algebraic problems related to the rate of change.

Assume there is a function f(x) with two given values of “a” and “b.” This equation takes the following form: (f(b) – f(a))/b-a. This is similar to the algebraic form of (y2 – y1)/(x2 – x1). The difference is that the y-values are represented by the result of the function with the given x-values.