Question

28. The table below shows the comparison of the cost, in dollars, of a

life insurance policy for female non-smokers at certain
$100,000
ages.
Age, a
31
32
33
34
35
Cost, C
170
172
176
178
182
Model the data with a linear function using age 32 and 35. Then
predict the cost of life insurance for a female non-smoker of
age 40. Round to the nearest dollar.

Answer 1

To model the data with a linear function, we can use the two data points for ages 32 and 35 to find the slope and y-intercept of the line. Since the cost of life insurance for a female non-smoker at age 32 is $172 and the cost at age 35 is $182, the slope of the line is given by the formula:

$m = \frac{\text{cost at age 35} - \text{cost at age 32}}{\text{age 35} - \text{age 32}} = \frac{182 - 172}{35 - 32} = \frac{10}{3} = 3.33$

We can then use the point-slope formula to find the y-intercept of the line:

$y - y_1 = m(x - x_1)$

$y - 172 = 3.33(x - 32)$

To find the y-intercept, we can set $x = 0$ and solve for $y$:

$y - 172 = 3.33(0 - 32)$

$y - 172 = -105.76$

$y = 66.24$

Therefore, the equation of the line that models the data is given by:

$y = 3.33x + 66.24$

To predict the cost of life insurance for a female non-smoker of age 40, we can substitute 40 for $x$ in the equation above:

$y = 3.33(40) + 66.24$

$y = \boxed{239.44}$

Therefore, the predicted cost of life insurance for a female non-smoker of age 40 is $239.44.