The average speed of a car on a journey is a very familiar concept and can be used to illustrate a very important mathematical concept clearly. This concept is that of the rate of change of a function during an interval.

Likewise, the speed at which a car travels at any particular moment is another familiar concept. This piece of information can lead us to the notion of the instantaneous rate of change of a function or a point.

The examples and exercises presented in this unit have been taken from "Matemáticas de Bachillerato 2. Grupo CERO" published by TEIDE. 

• To understand the concepts of average and instantaneous speed.

• To work out the average and instantaneous speed.

• To introduce the concept of average and instantaneous rates of change.

• To work out the average and instantaneous rates of change of some functions.