Q. For the following equation, what is the instantaneous rate of change at x=−2?f(x)=2x2−5Answer:
Calculate Derivative: To find the instantaneous rate of change of the function at a specific point, we need to calculate the derivative of the function. The derivative of a function gives us the slope of the tangent line at any point, which is the instantaneous rate of change.
Apply Power Rule: The function given is f(x)=2x2−5. To find its derivative, we use the power rule, which states that the derivative of xn is n⋅x(n−1). Applying this rule to our function, we differentiate each term separately.
Find Derivative of Function: Differentiating the term 2x2, we get 2×2x2−1=4x. The constant term −5 has a derivative of 0, since the derivative of any constant is 0.
Substitute x=−2: Now we have the derivative of the function, which is f′(x)=4x. To find the instantaneous rate of change at x=−2, we substitute −2 into the derivative.
Calculate Instantaneous Rate of Change: Substituting x=−2 into f′(x)=4x, we get f′(−2)=4∗(−2)=−8.
Calculate Instantaneous Rate of Change: Substituting x=−2 into f′(x)=4x, we get f′(−2)=4×(−2)=−8.The instantaneous rate of change of the function f(x) at x=−2 is −8.
More problems from Find derivatives using logarithmic differentiation