What is the rate of change of the function represented by the table?xy1–8.52–63–3.54–1

The rate of change is the change in y divided by the change in x. From x = 1 to x = 2, y increases from −8.5 to −6, so the rate is (−6 − (−8.5)) ÷ (2 − 1) = 2.5. The same increase occurs for each step in x, so the rate of change is 2.5, choice D.

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