Instantaneous and Average Rate of Change of f(x) | Interval (0,3)

AI Thread Summary
To find points in the interval (0,3) where the instantaneous rate of change of f(x) equals the average rate of change over [0,3], first calculate the average rate of change using the formula (f(3) - f(0)) / (3 - 0). For the function f(x) = 4x^2 - x^3, this results in an average rate of change of -1.5. The derivative, f'(x) = 8x - 3x^2, represents the instantaneous rate of change. Setting -1.5 equal to the derivative leads to a quadratic equation that can be solved for x to find the required points.
pyrosilver
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Homework Statement


Find any and all points inside the interval (0,3) where the instantaneous rate of change of f equals the average rate of change of f over the interval [0,3], for the equation

f(x) = 4x^2 - x^3


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



Not really sure how to do this. How do I find the average rate of change over that interval? I was thinking take the derivative:

f'(x) = 8x - 3x^2

plugging in 0 and 3 to get f'(0) = 0, and f'(3) = -3. So the average rate of change would be
-1.5?

And then saying

-1.5 = = 8x - 3x^2? I don't know, gah. How do I solve this problem?
 
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Based on how I see things, you're quite nearly there! You've just ended up with a quadratic equation, now what do you do?
 
Derivatives are the instantaneous rate of change. Your book should have a formula (a very familiar looking formula) for average rates of change.
 
pyrosilver said:

Homework Statement


Find any and all points inside the interval (0,3) where the instantaneous rate of change of f equals the average rate of change of f over the interval [0,3], for the equation

f(x) = 4x^2 - x^3


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



Not really sure how to do this. How do I find the average rate of change over that interval? I was thinking take the derivative:

f'(x) = 8x - 3x^2

plugging in 0 and 3 to get f'(0) = 0, and f'(3) = -3. So the average rate of change would be
-1.5?

And then saying

-1.5 = = 8x - 3x^2? I don't know, gah. How do I solve this problem?

No, what you've written is not the "average rate of change". The average rate of change of a function f over the interval [a; b] should be calculated as follow:

\frac{f(b) - f(a)}{b - a}

Hopefully, you can go from there, right? :)
 
I picked up this problem from the Schaum's series book titled "College Mathematics" by Ayres/Schmidt. It is a solved problem in the book. But what surprised me was that the solution to this problem was given in one line without any explanation. I could, therefore, not understand how the given one-line solution was reached. The one-line solution in the book says: The equation is ##x \cos{\omega} +y \sin{\omega} - 5 = 0##, ##\omega## being the parameter. From my side, the only thing I could...
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