Find the difference quotient of $LaTeX: \displaystyle f(x)=- 3 x - 1$ .

The difference quotient is $LaTeX: \displaystyle \frac{f(x+h)-f(x)}{h}$ . Evaluating $LaTeX: \displaystyle f(x+h)=- 3 h - 3 x - 1$ and expanding gives $LaTeX: \displaystyle f(x+h)=- 3 h - 3 x - 1$ Evaluating the difference quotient gives $LaTeX: \displaystyle \frac{(- 3 h - 3 x - 1)-(- 3 x - 1)}{h}$ Simplifying gives $LaTeX: \displaystyle \frac{- 3 h}{h}=-3$