Average rate of change and secant lines
Problem 2.1731 · easy
Find the average rate of change of \( \displaystyle f(x) = - 3 x^{2} + x - 1 \) on \( \displaystyle [-3, 1] \), and the equation of the secant line through the endpoints.
- \[ \left. - 3 x^{2} + x - 1 \right|_{\substack{ x=-3 }} = -31 \]The value at the left endpoint.✓ Proved
- \[ \left. - 3 x^{2} + x - 1 \right|_{\substack{ x=1 }} = -3 \]The value at the right endpoint.✓ Proved
- \[ 7 \]Change in output over change in input.✓ Proved
- \[ 7 x - 10 \]Point-slope form through the left endpoint.✓ Proved
Answer \( \frac{\Delta f}{\Delta x} = 7,\quad y = 7 x - 10 \)
Every line of this solution was proved by the computer algebra system SymPy. The answer was also checked a second way, without looking at the solution. The reviewers disagree about how one step is explained; every verdict is in the receipt.
The full receipt
| Line | Status | Checked by | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 2 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 3 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| 4 | ✓ Proved | sympy 1.14.0 | simplify(lhs - rhs) reduced to 0 |
| answer, a second way | ✓ Checked independently | sympy 1.14.0 + mpmath 1.3.0 | recomputed in floating point |
Reviewers
gpt-oss:20b: inconclusive — reviewer response could not be parsed: {"verdict":"fail","severity":"error","notes":"The solution skips the actual computation of the average rate of change: it simply states \"7 = 7\" without showing that \(\Delta f/\Delta x = (-3-(-31))/qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (misleading) — The solution provides no explanatory sentences connecting the calculations to the concepts of average rate of change or secant lines. It merely lists algebraic identities, failing to explain how the slope was derived or how the line equation was constructed.
Every verdict on record (4)
gpt-oss:20b: inconclusive 2026-10-06 — reviewer response could not be parsed: {"verdict":"fail","severity":"error","notes":"The solution skips the actual computation of the average rate of change: it simply states \"7 = 7\" without showing that \(\Delta f/\Delta x = (-3-(-31))/qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (misleading) 2026-10-06 — The solution provides no explanatory sentences connecting the calculations to the concepts of average rate of change or secant lines. It merely lists algebraic identities, failing to explain how the slope was derived or how the line equation was constructed.gpt-oss:20b: pass 2026-10-06qwen3.6:27b-mlx: fail (error) 2026-10-06 — The solution provides no explanatory sentences connecting the calculations to the problem requirements. It fails to state the formula for average rate of change or the point-slope form, leaving the student without the necessary logical steps to understand how the results were derived.
Proved: SymPy reduced the difference between the two sides to zero. Checked independently: a separate
method, named above, confirmed it. Checked numerically: the two sides agree at every sampled point, which is evidence,
not proof. Reviewed: a model or a person read it; that is all a sentence can have. Solution by
generator:structured/secant_slope, checked 2026-10-06 with SymPy 1.14.0.