Suppose that at the beginning of May 2006 you purchased shares in Apple, Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL). It is now five years later and you decide to evaluate your holdings to see if you have done well with this investment. The table below shows the market prices of AAPL.

AAPL Stock Prices

Date Price

2006............ 59.77

2007........... 121.19

2008........... 188.75

2009........... 135.81

2010........... 256.88

2011............ 337.41

a. Enter the data, as shown, into a worksheet and format the table as shown.

b. Create a formula to calculate your rate of return for each year. Format the results as percentages with two decimal places.

c. Calculate the total return for the entire holding period. What is the compound average annual rate of return?

d. Create a Line chart showing the stock price from May 2006 to May 2011. Make sure to title the chart and label the axes. Now, create an XY Scatter chart of the same data. What are the differences between these types of charts? Which type of chart is more appropriate for this data?

e. Experiment with the formatting possibilities of the chart. For example, you might try changing it to a 3-D Line chart and fill the plot area with a marble background. Is there any reason to use this type of chart to display this data? Do the "enhancements" help you to understand the data?