Chapter 1.2, Problem 81E

SPENDING ON EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE As the United States continues to slowly recover from the Great Recession, spending on equipment and software is projected to rise. The following table gives the percentage change in equipment and software spending, seasonally adjusted, in $2013$ ( $x=0$ corresponds to the first quarter of $2013$):

Quarter, $x$	$0$	$1$	$2$	$3$
Percent Change, $y$	$1.3$	$3.8$	$6.0$	$8.2$

a. Plot the percentage change $\left(y\right)$ versus the quarter $\left(x\right)$.

b. Draw a straight line $L$ through the points corresponding to the first quarter and the fourth quarter.

c. Derive an equation of the line $L$.

d. If the trend continued, estimate the percentage change in spending on equipment and software in the first quarter of $2014$.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce.