Answer:
[tex]\frac{f(x + h) - f(x)}{ h} = \frac{7}{2}[/tex]
Step-by-step explanation:
Given
[tex]f(x) = \frac{7}{2}x - 16[/tex]
Required
The difference quotient for h
The difference quotient is calculated as:
[tex]\frac{f(x + h) - f(x)}{ h}[/tex]
Calculate f(x + h)
[tex]f(x) = \frac{7}{2}x - 16[/tex]
[tex]f(x+h) = \frac{7}{2}(x+h) - 16[/tex]
[tex]f(x+h) = \frac{7}{2}x+ \frac{7}{2}h- 16[/tex]
The numerator of [tex]\frac{f(x + h) - f(x)}{ h}[/tex] is:
[tex]f(x + h) - f(x) = \frac{7}{2}x+ \frac{7}{2}h- 16 -(\frac{7}{2}x - 16)[/tex]
[tex]f(x + h) - f(x) = \frac{7}{2}x+ \frac{7}{2}h- 16 -\frac{7}{2}x + 16[/tex]
Collect like terms
[tex]f(x + h) - f(x) = \frac{7}{2}x -\frac{7}{2}x + \frac{7}{2}h- 16 + 16[/tex]
[tex]f(x + h) - f(x) = \frac{7}{2}h[/tex]
So, we have:
[tex]\frac{f(x + h) - f(x)}{ h} = \frac{7}{2}h \div h[/tex]
Rewrite as:
[tex]\frac{f(x + h) - f(x)}{ h} = \frac{7}{2}h * \frac{1}{h}[/tex]
[tex]\frac{f(x + h) - f(x)}{ h} = \frac{7}{2}[/tex]
