Answer
a) For the graph look at the detailed solution
b) m1=1/3, m2=.27, m3=.24
c) .255, to improve our result we should use points closer to point P.
Work Step by Step
A) First we need to find the y values for the three points. To do this plug in the x values on the function.
B) To find the slope we use the two points from each secant line and the slope definition.
C) Looking at the slopes of the secant lines the slope of the tangent line at point P is approximately 0.255.
To improve our approximation we should use the points that are closer to point P.
