Differentiate between independent and dependent variable in forecasting.[2 marks]
ii. The last seven weeks of sales at KC car dealership can be seen in Table 2 below.
Week Sales
1 25
2 30
3 27
4 31
5 27
6 29
7 30
8
a. Use a three-period weighted-moving average forecast to determine a forecast for the 8th week using weights of 3, 2, and 1 (where the most recent week receives the highest weight). (Round all forecasts to the nearest whole unit.) [5 marks
b. Calculate the MAD for this forecast. [4 marks]
c. What does the MAD indicate? [1 mark]
iii. The number of students enrolled in Spring Valley Elementary school has been steadily increasing over the past five years. The School Board would like to forecast enrolment for years 6 and 7 in order to better plan capacity. The past five years enrolment is indicated in table 3:
Year Enrollment
1 220
2 245
3 256
4 289
5 310
Assuming a linear trend, use the tabular method to derive values for:
a. the slope [9 marks]
b. the intercept [4 marks]
c. Forecast period 6 enrollment.