Mathematics

The slope of a tangent line is exactly what the derivative measures—it tells you how steeply the function is climbing or falling at one specific point. To find it, you'll differentiate $f(x)$ using the power rule, then plug in $x=2$ to get the instantaneous rate of change at that location.

The slope of a tangent line is exactly what the derivative measures—it tells you how steeply the function is climbing or falling at one specific point. To find it, you'll differentiate $f(x)$ using the power rule, then plug in $x=2$ to get the instantaneous rate of change at that location.