The formula for calculating the average rate of change over an interval, (a, b) is expressed as
average rate of change = (f(b) - f(a))/(b - a)
In this scenario, the given interval is (2, 5). This means that
a = 2
b = 5
From the table,
f(2) = 3 = f(a)
f(5) = 1.5 = f(b)
By substituting these values into the formula, we have
average rate of change = (1.5 - 3)/(5 - 2) = - 1.5/3
average rate of change = - 0.5