Skip to content
Free public beta until December 4, 2026: every course is open, no card needed. After that, the first chapter of each course stays free and full access is a one-time $39 ($19 for up to 100 founding members chosen for helpful feedback). Your progress is kept. How the beta works

average rate of change

How much a quantity changes per unit input, averaged over an entire interval.

The average rate of change of f over [a,b] is \dfrac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} — the slope of the secant line through the endpoints. It is a difference quotient with h = b-a fixed, not yet shrinking toward zero.

Examples

  • If a car travels 120 miles in 2 hours, its average rate of change (average velocity) is 60 mph.

See also

difference quotient instantaneous rate of change
Read the full section →
Graph settings

Calculator