How do I identify the rate of change on a linear function?

The average rate of change is constant for a linear function.

Another way to state this is that the average rate of change remains the same for the entire domain of a linear function.

If the linear function is

y

=

7

x

+

12

then the average rate of change is 7 over any interval selected.

Slope intercept form

y

=

m

x

+

b

, where

m

is the slope.