What is the difference between a linear function and a nonlinear function? Explain what each looks like when represented as a table and as a graph.

Answer:

A linear function has a constant rate of change. In a table, equal changes in x give equal changes in y; on a graph, the points form a straight line. A nonlinear function does not have a constant rate of change, so its table does not show constant first differences for equal x-intervals, and its graph is not a straight line.