The following table shows the federal minimum hourly wage for selected years.

Question

The following table shows the federal minimum hourly wage for selected years.

Year 1970,1975,1980,1985,1990,1995,2000,2005,2010

Minimum Wage, in dollars 1.45, 2.00, 3.10, 3.35, 3.80, 4.25, 5.15, 5.15, 7.25

(a) What was the average annual rate of change in the federal minimum wage from 1970 to 1980?

 _____ cents

(b) Find the average rate of change in the minimum wage from 1990 to 2010.

 _____cents

Answer 1

a) Avg rate of change = (3.10 -1.45)/10 = .165

b)Agv rate of change = (7.25-3.80) /20 = .1725