Rate of Change Geogebra Exploration
This applet introduces average rate of change. Students look at the position of the points and how that changes the slope of the line segment connecting points A and B. They should be able to see that the graph of f(x) is decreasing and increasing when the slope of line segment AB is negative and positive respectively.
Change the positions of points A and B. What happens to the value of the Rate when you change the position of the points?
This applet introduces instantaneous rate of change. Students look at the position of the point A and how that changes the slope of the tangent line at point A.