Data were recorded for the temperature of a cup of coffee over a 30-minute period. It is known that the temperature of hot coffee will cool to room temperature following an exponential model. Which of the following would linearize the data for temperature and minutes?

For an exponential model written as Temperature = a·e^(kt), taking the natural logarithm gives ln(Temperature) = ln(a) + kt, which is linear in minutes. So minutes stays unchanged and ln(Temperature) is the transformed variable: choice B. In a more precise cooling model with a nonzero room-temperature baseline, you would take ln(Temperature − room temperature) instead.

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