Read this article about quarterly growth in GDP in the United States since 2011. As you read the article, you’ll see many economic terms we have not yet discussed. Don’t worry, you'll learn about all of them soon. For now, here’s a brief description of what you need to know for this activity:

A quarter is a three-month period:
first quarter: January to March
second quarter: April to June
third quarter: July to September
fourth quarter: October to December
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the total value of finished goods and services produced during a year in a country.
Consumer spending is the total amount spent by consumers across the country.
Business investment is the total amount spent by companies to gain profits.
A trade deficit occurs when a country has more imports than exports.
Business inventory includes the value of the goods that have been produced by companies but not yet bought by consumers.
Question 1
Using what you read in the article, answer the following questions.

Part A
Did GDP increase or decrease in the second quarter of 2018? By how much did it increase or decrease?