The number of male alates (winged ants) in an ant colony has been found to be approximately a linear function of the age of the colony, with a 5-year-old colony having 9.7 alates on average, and a 17-year-old colony having 39.7 alates on average.

a. Write the number of male alates (y) as a linear function of the age of the colony in years (t)

b. A one-year-old colony typically has no alates. What does the formula found in part a predict?

c. Assuming that the linear function found in part a continues to be accurate, how old would a colony be expected to be before it has about 50 male alates?