Rate of change is computed by dividing the amount of change by the interval over which it occurred.
<h3>a)</h3>
Here the amount of gas decreased from 14 to 2 gallons, so a decrease of 14-2 = 12 gallons. That occurred over a 4-hour period, so the rate of change is (-12 gallons)/(4 hours) = -3 gallons/hour.
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<h3>b)</h3>
The initial amount was 14 gallons, so the equation for the line describing remaining gas will be ...