The formula Upper T equals 26 x squared plus 802 x plus 15 comma 977 models the average cost of tuition and fees, T, at private colleges for the school year ending x years after 2000. The graph to the right shows average cost of tuition and fees at private four-year college.

The federal reserve controls certain interest rates in the united states. investors often try to speculate as to whether the federal reserve will raise or lower rates and by how much. suppose a company conducts extensive interviews with financial analysts, and as a result, predicts that "thefed" will increase rates by an average of 0.25 percentage points every six months for the forseeable future. which type of equation could be used to model the predicted interest rates over the next several years, assuming no other significant changes? a) a linear equation b) a quadratic equation c) a polynomial equation d) an exponential equation