Back to Construct and interpret scatter plots for bivariate measurement data — Problem 2 · Task Set 80

Scatter Plots and Association -- Tutor Intake Assessment

This is a quick check on reading and interpreting scatter plots. The goal
is to see where your understanding is solid and where we should spend
time together — not to grade you. Work independently, without notes.

Grade 8·8 problems·~13 min·Common Core Math - Grade 8·container·8-sp-a-1

Work through problems with immediate feedback

Applications

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