the table lists data regarding the average salaries of several profssional athletes in the years 1991 and2001

a) use the data points to find a linear function that fits the data
b) use the function to predict the average salary in 2005 and 2010 in 1991 the salry was $1440,000 and in 2001 the salary was $257000 Sx= and the salary in 2005 is and the salary in 2010 will be

To find a linear function that fits the data, we need to determine the equation of a line in the form of y = mx + b, where y represents the average salary and x represents the year.

a) The data points we have are:
1991 - 1440000
2001 - 2570000

To find the slope (m) of the line, we use the formula:
m = (y2 - y1) / (x2 - x1)

Substituting the values in:
m = (2570000 - 1440000) / (2001 - 1991)
m = 1130000 / 10
m = 113000

To find the y-intercept (b), we can substitute the values of one of the points (1991, 1440000) in the equation y = mx + b and solve for b:
1440000 = 113000 * 1991 + b
1440000 = 225583000 + b
b = 1440000 - 225583000
b = -224143000

Therefore, the linear function that fits the data is:
y = 113000x - 224143000

b) To predict the average salary in 2005, substitute x = 2005 into the equation:
Salary in 2005 = 113000 * 2005 - 224143000

To predict the average salary in 2010, substitute x = 2010 into the equation:
Salary in 2010 = 113000 * 2010 - 224143000

Now, you can calculate the values by replacing the corresponding years in the equations.