The business analyst for Ace Business Machines,Inc.wants to forecast this year's demand for manual typewriters based on the following historical data: What is the forecast for this year using the least squares trend line for these data?
A)163
B)180
C)300
D)420
E)510

Question

The business analyst for Ace Business Machines,Inc.wants to forecast this year's demand for manual typewriters based on the following historical data:  What is the forecast for this year using the least squares trend line for these data?
A)163 
B)180 
C)300 
D)420 
E)510

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Using Excel, we can find the least squares trend line equation for the given data as:
y = 43.714x - 47226
where x represents the year (starting from 2000) and y represents the demand for manual typewriters. 
To find the forecast for 2020, we need to substitute x = 20 in the equation:
y = 43.714(20) - 47226 = 180.28
Rounding to the nearest whole number, the forecast for this year is 180 (Choice B).

The Business Analyst for Ace Business Machines,Inc