Question

How do I identify the rate of change on a linear function?

Answer 1

The average rate of change is constant for a linear function.
Another way to state this is that the average rate of change remains the same for the entire domain of a linear function.
If the linear function is
y
=
7
x
+
12
then the average rate of change is 7 over any interval selected.
Slope intercept form
y
=
m
x
+
b
, where
m
is the slope.

Answer 2

Slope is the ratio of the vertical and horizontal changes between two points on a surface or a line. The vertical change between two points is called the rise, and the horizontal change is called the run. The slope equals the rise divided by the run.