Minimum Wage. In 1995, the minimum wage was $4.25 per hour, and by 2010 it had increased to $7.25 per hour.

a) Find the slope of the line passing through the points (1995, 4.25) and (2010, 7.25)
b) Interpret the slope as a rate of change.
c) If this trend continues, estimate the minimum wage in 2015.

a) To find the slope of a line passing through two points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), you can use the formula:

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

In this case, the two points are (1995, 4.25) and (2010, 7.25), so the formula becomes:
slope = (7.25 - 4.25) / (2010 - 1995)

Simplifying this equation:
slope = 3 / 15
slope = 0.2

Therefore, the slope of the line passing through the points (1995, 4.25) and (2010, 7.25) is 0.2.

b) The slope of a line represents the rate of change between two variables, in this case, the year (x-axis) and the minimum wage (y-axis). Since the slope is 0.2, it means that for every increase of 1 year, the minimum wage increases by 0.2 dollars.

c) To estimate the minimum wage in 2015, we need to use the trend established by the given data and the slope.

Since the given trend is that the minimum wage increases by 0.2 dollars per year, we can calculate the change in minimum wage from 1995 to 2015:
change in minimum wage = (2015 - 1995) * 0.2

Simplifying this equation:
change in minimum wage = 20 * 0.2
change in minimum wage = 4

So, if the trend continues, the minimum wage in 2015 would be $7.25 + $4 = $11.25 per hour.