The following data represent x 5 boat sales and y = boat trailer sales from 1995 through 2000. Source: Bureau of the Census, Statistical Abstract of the United States 1999, p. 269 and Statistical Abstract 2002, p. 755.
|
Year
|
Boat Sales (Thousands)
|
Boat Trailer Sales (Thousands)
|
|
1995
|
649
|
207
|
|
1996
|
619
|
194
|
|
1997
|
596
|
181
|
|
1998
|
576
|
174
|
|
1999
|
585
|
168
|
|
2000
|
574
|
159
|
a. Determine the least-squares regression line and interpret its slope.
b. Estimate, for a year during which 500,000 boats are sold, the number of boat trailers that would be sold.
c. What reasons might explain why the number of boat trailers sold per year is less than the number of boats sold per year?