The average rate of change of the function is of 5.44, which means that each day, there are 5.44 new cases on average.
The average rate of change of a function is given by the change in the output divided by the change in the input, that is, considering a function f(t) on an interval [a,b], the rate is:
[tex]R = \frac{f(b) - f(a)}{b - a}[/tex]
In this problem, the function which gives the number of flu patients after d days, [tex]0 \leq d \leq 21[/tex], is of:
[tex]f(t) = 10^{0.12d}[/tex]
Hence:
[tex]f(0) = 10^{0.12(0)} = 10[/tex]
[tex]f(21) = 10^{0.12(21)} = 124.3[/tex]
Then, the rate is:
[tex]R = \frac{124.3 - 10}{21 - 0} = 5.44[/tex]
The average rate of change of the function is of 5.44, which means that each day, there are 5.44 new cases on average.
You can learn more about average rate of change at https://brainly.com/question/26420851