Q. For the function f(x)=x2+4x−8, find the slope of the secant line between x=−6 and x=−1.Answer:
Slope Formula: To find the slope of the secant line between two points on a function, we use the formula for slope, which is the change in y-values divided by the change in x-values. This is also known as the difference quotient. The formula is (f(x2)−f(x1))/(x2−x1), where x1 and x2 are the x-values of the two points.
Find f(−6): First, we need to find the y-value for x=−6 by substituting −6 into the function f(x). So, f(−6)=(−6)2+4(−6)−8.
Calculate f(−6): Calculating f(−6) gives us f(−6)=36−24−8=4.
Find f(−1): Next, we need to find the y-value for x=−1 by substituting −1 into the function f(x). So, f(−1)=(−1)2+4(−1)−8.
Calculate f(−1): Calculating f(−1) gives us f(−1)=1−4−8=−11.
Identify Two Points: Now we have the two points on the function: (−6,f(−6))=(−6,4) and (−1,f(−1))=(−1,−11). We can use these points to find the slope of the secant line.
Calculate Slope: The slope of the secant line is (f(−1)−f(−6))/(−1−(−6))=(−11−4)/(−1+6).
Calculate Slope: The slope of the secant line is (f(−1)−f(−6))/(−1−(−6))=(−11−4)/(−1+6).Calculating the slope gives us (−11−4)/(5)=−15/5=−3.
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