1. If an accounting firm determines that the relationship between the number of audits conducted and the total hours spent is linear and passes through the points (4, 10) and (7, 19), what is the rate of change of hours spent per audit? - A) 3 - B) 4 - C) 2 - D) 5 Answer: A) 3 Rationale: The rate of change is calculated as the change in hours divided by the change in audits, which is (19-10)/(7-4) = 9/3 = 3. 2. An accountant observes that the cost of goods sold (COGS) follows a quadratic pattern based on the number of items sold. If the COGS is represented by the equation \( COGS = 2n^2 + 5n + 12 \), where n is the number of items, what is the additional cost for each item sold after the first 10 items? - A) \$22 - B) \$42 - C) \$62 - D) \$82 Answer: B) \$42 Rationale: The additional cost for each item after the first 10 is the difference in COGS for 11 items and 10 items, which is \( COGS(11) - COGS(10) = (2(11)^2 + 5(11) + 12) - (2(10)^2 + 5(10) + 12) = 242 - 200 = \$42 \). 3. During a fiscal year, an accounting department notices that the number of financial reports generated each month forms an arithmetic sequence. If the first month had 5 reports and the last month had 41 reports, how many months are in the fiscal year? - A) 7 - B) 8 - C) 9 - D) 12 Answer: D) 12 Rationale: The number of reports forms an arithmetic sequence, so the