Final answer:
The rate of change, or slope, of the line with equation y = (1/5)x - 3 is 1/5, which denotes a rise of 1 on the vertical axis for every increase of 5 on the horizontal axis.
Step-by-step explanation:
The rate of change of a straight line, often referred to as the slope, is indicated by the coefficient of the independent variable (in this case, x). For the equation y = (1/5)x - 3, the rate of change, or slope, is 1/5.
This means that for every unit that x increases, y increases by 1/5. The slope characterizes how steep the line is and is constant along the entire length of a straight line.