Prison Population The graph showing the total number of prisoners in state and federal pri...

Prison Population The graph showing the total number of prisoners in state and federal prisons for the years 1960 through 2009 is shown in the figure. There were 212,953 prisoners in 1960 and 1,617,478 in 2009.

a. What is the average rate of growth of the prison population from 1960 to 2009?

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b. What is the slope of the line connecting the points satisfying the conditions above?

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c. Write the equation of the secant line joining these two points on the curve.

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d. Can this secant line be used to make a good estimate of total number of prisoners in 2015?

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e. If a line were drawn between points associated with 1990 and 2004, would the equation of this line give a better estimate of total number of prisoners in 2015?