8.SP.A.1: Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data — Practice

Work through problems with immediate feedback

Concepts

A scatter plot of outside temperature and hot chocolate sales
shows points sloping downward from left to right: as temperature
increases, hot chocolate sales decrease. What is the best term
for this pattern?

Positive association

Negative association

No association

Negative correlation

A scatter plot shows points that generally trend upward from
left to right, but the points are spread out quite loosely
around that trend rather than sitting close to a line. Which
statement is most accurate?

There is no association, because the points don't form a clean line

There is a positive association, even though the points are scattered around the trend

There is a negative association, because the points are spread out

The data must contain an error, since real data should form a line

A scatter plot of shoe size versus math test score for 20
students shows points scattered all over the plot with no
upward slope, no downward slope, and no curve -- just a random
spread. What is the best description of this pattern?

Positive association

Negative association

No association

Nonlinear association

A scatter plot of a child's age (0 to 18 years) against height
shows height increasing quickly in early childhood, then the
rate of increase slowing down and leveling off in the teenage
years — the points trace a curved path, not a straight one. Is
this association linear or nonlinear? Answer with one word.

Applications

A scatter plot of used-car age versus price shows two separate
groups of points: one group of nearly-new cars (1-5 years old)
priced high, and a second group of older cars (8-15 years old)
priced low, with almost no cars in between. What do these two
separate groups of points represent?

An outlier

Two clusters

A negative association only, with no other pattern

A data-entry error that should be corrected

In a scatter plot of latitude versus average January
temperature for 20 U.S. cities, one high-elevation southern city
is noticeably colder than the overall trend predicts. A student
says, "That point is probably a mistake, so we should just
delete it from the data." Is the student's reasoning sound?

Yes -- any point far from the trend is an error and should always be removed

No -- outliers should always be kept and never questioned

No -- the point may reflect a real cause (elevation), so it should be investigated before deciding whether to remove it

Yes -- because the point makes the pattern harder to see, it should be removed regardless of cause

A scatter plot shows a clear positive association between
monthly ice cream sales and the number of reported drownings
that month: as ice cream sales go up, so do drownings. Does this
scatter plot prove that ice cream sales cause drownings?

Yes -- a strong positive association is proof of a causal relationship

No -- a third factor (like hot summer weather) likely drives both variables, so association does not prove causation

Yes -- but only because the association happens to be positive rather than negative

No -- because the two variables must be plotted on a coordinate plane to compare, and drownings cannot be graphed

A tutor shows you a scatter plot of hours of TV watched per week
versus students' GPA, which shows a negative association: more
TV watching tends to go with a lower GPA. In 1-2 sentences,
explain why this scatter plot alone does not prove that watching
TV causes a lower GPA, and name one other factor that might
explain the pattern.

0 of 8 answered

Answer all problems to submit.

Scatter Plots and Association -- Tutor Intake Assessment

Concepts

Applications