Which function could represent the data in the table below?

Question

anonymous · Answer

f(x) = -2
f(x) = x - 3
f(x) = x + 3
f(x) = 2x + 1

mathmale · Answer

Ricardo:  Hello!
As x increases from -5 through 0, 2 and 5, is f(x) increasing or decreasing?  Or is it constant?

anonymous · Answer

It is increasing

mathmale · Answer

So you can automatically eliminate which of the four possible answers?

anonymous · Answer

f(x)=-2

mathmale · Answer

Right.  Now you have a variety of choices available to you to help you choose the correct answer.  You could graph the four data points and draw a line thru them.  Or you could determine the slope of the line using the slope formula.  Which will it be?

anonymous · Answer

attachment

mathmale · Answer

That's really, really cool, and you are to be commended for knowing how to do that.
Read the slope of the line from the graph, and also the y-intercept

ybarrap · Answer

You can also look at x = 0 and you can eliminate all the wrong possibilities, there is only one function with this y-intercept.