limits and derivatives

[jeca86]

A cardiac monitor is used to measure the heart rate of a patient after surgery. It compiles the number of heartbeats after t minutes. When the data in the table are graphed, the slope of the tangent line represents the heart rate in beats per minute.

TABLE:

t(min) 36 38 40 42 44
heartbeats 2530 2661 2806 2948 3080

The monitor estimates this value by calculating the slope of a secant line. Use the data to estimate the patient's heart rate after 42 minutes using the secant line between the points with the given values of t.
a)t=36 and t=42
b)t=38 and t=42

I know I have to find the slope. What do I do after that?

 

[tkhunny]

TABLE:

t(min)        36    42   
heartbeats   2530  2948

a)t=36 and t=42

You have two points, (36,2530) and (42,2948). Put them in the Two-Point Formula

y - 2948 = ((2948-2530)/(42-36))*(x-42)

That's about it.