examine the rise in gasoline prices from 1997 to 2006. the price of regular unleaded gasoline in january 1997 was $1.26 and in january 2006 the price of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.31 (bureau of labor statistics,2006) use the coordinates (1997,1.26) and (1997, 1.26) and (2006, 2.31) to find the slope or rate of change) between the points. describe how you arrived at you answer.

The slope can be found by (y1 - y2) / (x1 - x2)

(1.26 - 2.31) / (1997 - 2006) = 0.117

To find the slope or rate of change between the two points (1997, 1.26) and (2006, 2.31), we can use the formula:

Slope = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

Let's plug in the values:

x1 = 1997
y1 = 1.26
x2 = 2006
y2 = 2.31

Slope = (2.31 - 1.26) / (2006 - 1997)

Now, we can calculate:

Slope = 1.05 / 9

Slope = 0.1167

So, the slope or rate of change between the two points is approximately 0.1167.

This means that the price of regular unleaded gasoline increased by an average rate of approximately $0.1167 per year from 1997 to 2006.