Answer: The average rate of change of the function in that interval is r = -1
Step-by-step explanation:
When we have a function f(x), the average rate of change in an interval:
a ≤ x ≤ b
Is calculated as:
[tex]rate = \frac{f(b) - f(a)}{b - a}[/tex]
In this case, the function is:
y = f(x) = (1/2)*x^2 - 1
And the interval is:
-2 ≤ x ≤ 0
Then the rate of change will be:
[tex]rate = \frac{f(0) - f(-2)}{0 -(-2)} = \frac{((1/2)*(0)^2 - 1) -((1/2)(-2)^2 - 1)}{2} = \frac{-2}{2} = -1[/tex]
The average rate of change of that function in that interval is r = -1