It certainly is just given to you, as acmilan1987 said.
"Their radii increase at the rate of 2m/s."
a) You know that the radius is changing at a rate of +2 metres per second.
b) dR/dt is the rate at which R (the radius) is changing with respect to t (time).
Therefore dR/dt = 2.
It's important to understand what you're actually doing (i.e. what the rates and the notation 'dy/dx' truly mean) if you want to be able to access the top mark range in the exam. Rote-learning and memorisation just don't cut it. You want to
understand.