a$)$ Based on the given monthly sales data, it can be said that there is not a strong linear trend in sales over time.

b$)$ First, co$-$owner Bob Day wants to forecast by exponential smoothing by initially setting February's forecast equal to January's sales with $=$

$0\mathrm{.}10.$ Using the forecasting method, Bob's forecast for the month of May is $($round your response to two decimal places$)$:

Second, co$-$owner Sherry Snyder wants to forecast using a three$-$period moving average. The forecast for the month of May is $($round your

response to two decimal places$).$

c$)$ Assume that May's actual sales figure turns out to be $405.$ For the forecast developed by Bob using exponential smoothing, the mean absolute

deviation $(MAD)=$

sales $($round your response to two decimal places$).$