Final answer:
Differentiation is the mathematical operation that determines the rate of change of a function at a specific point. It involves finding the derivative of the function, which represents the slope of the tangent line to the curve at that point.
Step-by-step explanation:
The mathematical operation that involves determining the rate of change of a function at a specific point is D) Differentiation. Differentiation is a calculus operation that finds the derivative of a function, which represents the rate of change of the function at any given point. The derivative of a function gives us the slope of the tangent line to the curve at that point.