Chapter 1.2, Problem 2E

Mortgage Rates The following table is taken from the website of Freddie Mac. It shows rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages since $1970$.

$y=\text{Year}$	$r=\text{Mortgage}\text{rate}$
$1975$	$9.05\%$
$1980$	$13.74\%$
$1985$	$12.43\%$
$1990$	$10.13\%$
$1995$	$7.93\%$
$2000$	$8.05\%$
$2005$	$5.87\%$
$2010$	$4.69\%$
$2015$	$3.84\%$

a. Explain in practical terms the meaning of $r\left(2003\right)$.

b. Use the table to estimate the value of $r\left(2003\right)$.