The document discusses rates of change, including average and instantaneous rates. It defines average velocity as the change in distance over the change in time. The instantaneous rate of change is the limit of the average rate as the change in x approaches 0. For a free-falling object, the position function gives height as a function of time, while the velocity function gives the rate of change of height or velocity over time. The document also introduces profit, revenue, and cost functions in economics and the concept of marginal values.