The average rate of change of a function f(x) over an interval (a, b) is given by
[tex] \frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a} [/tex]
Therefore, given a function, f(x), over an interval (2, 9), the average rate of change of the function can be found using the expression
[tex] \frac{f(9)-f(2)}{9-2} [/tex]