Question

Calculate the difference quotient for f(x)=5-x^2 at a=3.

Calculate the difference quotient for f(x)=x+x^-1 at a=11.

Answer 1

To calculate the difference quotient for a function, substitute the given value into the formula.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the difference quotient for a function, you need to substitute the given value of 'a' into the difference quotient formula. For the function f(x) = 5 - x^2 and a = 3, the difference quotient is (f(a+h) - f(a))/h. Plugging in the values, we get ((5 - (3 + h)^2) - (5 - 3^2))/h.

Similarly, for the function f(x) = x + x^-1 and a = 11, the difference quotient is (f(a+h) - f(a))/h. Substituting the values, we get ((11 + h + (11 + h)^-1) - (11 + 11^-1))/h.