Answer:
The average rate of change of the function over the given interval is -6
Explanation:
The function we want to find its average rate of change is;
F(x) = 17 - x^2
Mathematically, the average rate of change of a function F(x) over an interval (a,b) can be calculated as;
{F(b) - F(a)}/(b-a)
According to this question, a = 1 and b = 5
F(a) = F(1) = 17 -(1)^2 = 17 -1 = 16
F(b) = F(5) = 17 - 5^2 = 17-25 = -8
So making the substitution; we have
(-8)-16/(5-1) = -24/4 = -6