Instantaneous Rate of Change: The Derivative
Directions: Below is a graph of f(x) = 0.5x3 – x
Directions: for each value of x in the table below, draw a tangent line to estimate the instantaneous rates
of change. Enter the instantaneous rate of change under f ( x ) in the table. Four values of f ( x ) (from
the last worksheet) are entered already. Then use the values to make a graph of f ( x ) on the grid below.
Note that the scaling of the y-axis has changed.
x
-5
-4
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
f ( x )
5.0
0.5
-1.0
0.5