Answer
$-{{\$}} 5000$ per year
Work Step by Step
The average rate of change of $f$ over the interval $[a, b]$ is
Average rate of change of $f\displaystyle \ \ =\frac{f(b)-f(a)}{b-a}$
The units of the average rate of change of $f$ are units of $f(x)$ per unit of $x$.
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Using the formula above, we get:
$\displaystyle \frac{P(9)-P(7)}{9-7}=\frac{240-250}{2}=-5$ (thousand dollars per year)
