How can you recognize when a pattern in real life is linear or nonlinear?

In case of a linear relationship, as the difference between each successive input value in the function is constant, the difference between each corresponding output value is also constant. In case of a non-linear relationship, the difference between the corresponding y-values are not the same.

Step-by-step explanation:

In case of a linear relationship, as the difference between each successive input value in the function is constant, the difference between each corresponding output value is also constant. In case of a non-linear relationship, the difference between the corresponding y-values are not the same.

On a Cartesian Plane, the graph of a linear function is a straight line although it can go in any direction. Graph of a non-linear function is not a straight line.

A non-linear graph can not be described by an equation of the of the form y = mx + c, where x, y are variables and m, c are constants.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a table is linear, Y must change at a constant rate as X increases by 1. If a table is not linear, Y doesn't change at a constant rate at all. In fact, nonlinear tables don't even have an equation because there's no predicting what the Y-value is.