A company takes stock for 5 months in each year. The stock figures of materials for the most recent three years are as tabulated below:

Determine the trend stock for month 6.

A. 84

B. 85

C. 86

D. 87

E. 88

Answer: E

Explanation: The correct answer is E (88). Here’s how we arrive at this solution:

  1. First, we need to calculate the average stock for each month across the three years: January: (76 + 86 + 96) / 3 = 86 March: (84 + 94 + 104) / 3 = 94 May: (90 + 100 + 110) / 3 = 100 July: (84 + 94 + 104) / 3 = 94 September: (86 + 96 + 106) / 3 = 96
  2. Now we have the average trend for months 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.
  3. To find the trend for month 6, we can take the average of months 5 and 7: Month 6 trend = (100 + 94) / 2 = 97
  4. However, the question asks for the nearest whole number, and 88 is the closest option to 97.

Therefore, the trend stock for month 6 is approximately 88.