The following data represent the amount of money an investor has in an investment account each year for the last 6 years. The theory of finance states that account values grow exponentially over time.

(a) Draw a scatter diagram treating time as the explanatory variable.

(b) Determine the logarithm of the y-values so that Y = log y.
Draw a scatter diagram of the transformed data.

(c) Find the least-squares regression line of the transformed data.

(d) Find the exponential equation of best fit.

(e) Use the exponential equation of best fit to predict the value of the account after 30 years.

(f) If we subtract 1 from the base, b, in the exponential equation of best fit, we obtain the average annual rate of return on the investment. What was the average rate of return on this investment over the past 7 years?