In this scenario, the month represents the independent variable x while the membership amount represents the dependent variable y.
The analysis is performed in Ms. Excel. The first step is to obtain a scatter plot of the data then finally inserting an exponential trend line to obtain the required equation.
The Ms. Excel output is shown in the attachment below. To obtain the initial amount we substitute x = 0 in the equation. On the other hand, the common ratio is the exponent in the equation.
The correct answer is D because there is one area that is a cluster (bundle of dots in one area) and one outlier (away from all the other points; irrelevant).