AI engineering glossary · Calculus optimisation
What is rate of change?
Rate of change: How much one quantity changes per unit change in another. The average version is measured over an interval as change in output divided by change in input; the instantaneous version is the derivative. It is the core idea behind slopes, speeds and sensitivities.
Rate of change: an example
If a delivery app grows from 2,000 to 2,600 orders in 3 weeks, the average rate of change is 200 orders per week.
Related terms
More Calculus optimisation terms
- Reverse-mode automatic differentiation
- Riemann sum
- RMSProp
- Saddle point
- Secant line
- Second-order approximation
- Second-order condition
- Sharpness-aware minimisation
Where you learn it
Rate of change is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.