Question

The scatter plot below shows the profit earned each month by a new company over the first year of operation.

Answer 1

Explanation:

To determine the slope and y-intercept of the equation, let us plot the coordinates in the slope-intercept form.

Analyzing the graph, some of the points that are on the straight line is (1,0),(3,5), (9,20)

Let us consider the points (1,0),(3,5) to determine the slope.

$\begin{aligned}m &=\frac{5-0}{3-1} \\&=\frac{5}{2} \\&=2.5\end{aligned}$

Since, the profit is earned in thousands of dollars, m = 2.5 or m = 2500

Thus, slope = 2500

To determine the y- intercept, let us substitute any one of the coordinate from the graph.

Thus, let us substitute (1,0) in the equation $y=mx+b$ to determine the y-intercept.

$0=2500(1)+b$

Simplifying, we have,

$b=-2500$

Hence, the line of best fit equation is $y=2500x-2500$