DATA ANALYSIS: RENEWABLE ENERGY The tableshows the consumption (in trillions of Btus) of

Chapter 6, Problem 75

(choose chapter or problem)

DATA ANALYSIS: RENEWABLE ENERGY The tableshows the consumption (in trillions of Btus) of solarenergy and wind energy in the United States from1998 through 2006. (Source: Energy InformationAdministration)(a) Use the regression feature of a graphing utility tofind a cubic model for the solar energy consumptiondata and a quadratic model for the wind energyconsumption data. Let represent the year, withcorresponding to 1998.(b) Use a graphing utility to graph the data and the twomodels in the same viewing window.(c) Use the graph from part (b) to approximate thepoint of intersection of the graphs of the models.Interpret your answer in the context of the problem.(d) Describe the behavior of each model. Do you thinkthe models can be used to predict consumption ofsolar energy and wind energy in the United Statesfor future years? Explain.(e) Use your schools library, the Internet, or someother reference source to research the advantagesand disadvantages of using renewable energy.