ASSIGNMENT

LESSON 2 ASSIGNMENT NOTES the Assignment

Chunking
 Use a separate piece of paper for your Journal entry.
ASSIGNMENT

REMEMBER
SESSION 1
JOURNAL

Describe the difference between

correlation and causation in your
You can model a data set by using a linear function called
a regression equation. You can also calculate a numeric Î Mixed Practice (page 185)
own words. summary called the correlation coefficient to determine 2 and 3
the strength and direction of the relationship between the
two variables.

PRACTICE
SESSION 2
1 The table shows the percent of the United States population who did not receive needed
dental care services due to cost.
Î Journal
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

Percent 7.9 8.1 8.7 8.6 9.2 10.7 10.7 10.8 10.5 12.6 13.3 Î Practice 1 – 3

a Do you think a linear regression equation would best describe this situation? Î Stretch (advanced learners)
Why or why not?
Yes, a linear regression equation is best because as the years increase by 1,
the percent increases by a fairly constant amount.
b Determine the linear regression equation for these data. Interpret the equation
in terms of this problem situation.
JOURNAL
Let x represent the number of years since 1999.
y = 0.51x + 7.54 Sample answer:
For every increase of one year, the percent of the population that did not Correlation simply describes
receive needed dental care services increases by 0.51%. The percent for the
year 2000 was 8.05%. whether there is an
c Compute and interpret the correlation coefficient of this data set. Does it seem association between two

TOPIC 3
appropriate to use a line of best fit? Explain your reasoning.
variables. Causation is when
The value of r ≈ 0.953. There is a positive correlation; as the number of years
the independent variable is
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increases, the percent increases. A line of best fit is appropriate because the
correlation coefficient is close to 1. what causes the change in
2 A teacher claims that students who study will receive good grades.
the dependent variable.
a Do you think that studying is a necessary condition for a student to receive
good grades?

No. It may be possible for a student to receive good grades without studying.
b Do you think that studying is a sufficient condition for a student to receive good grades?
No. Not every student who studies receives good grades.

Go to LiveHint.com for help

159
159
on the PRACTICE questions. Lesson 2  Gotta Keep It Correlatin'
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Encourage students to use LiveHint.com for help

with the PRACTICE questions of this assignment.

Lesson 2  Gotta Keep It Correlatin' 159

 ASSIGNMENT Continued

NOTES LESSON 2 ASSIGNMENT Continued

c Do you think that there is a correlation between students who study and students
who receive good grades?
Yes. Students who study have a much higher chance of receiving good grades
than those who do not study.
d Do you think that it is true that studying will cause a student to receive good grades?

While students who study have a much higher chance of receiving good grades,
studying does not actually cause a student to receive good grades.
e List two or more confounding variables that could have an effect on this claim.

Sample answers:
A student who has a high IQ may receive good grades.
A student who pays attention in class may receive good grades.

3 For each situation, decide whether the correlation implies causation. List reasons
why or why not.
a The number of violent video games sold in the United States strongly correlates to crime
rates in real life.
The correlation does not imply causation. All technology sales are increasing.
Crimes are increasing for a lot of societal reasons.

b The number of newspapers sold in a city strongly correlates to the number of

runs scored by the city’s professional baseball team.
The correlation does not imply causation. This may be the case for
championship games, but overall, people get news other ways and buy
newspapers at times other than baseball season.

c The number of mouse traps found in a person’s house strongly correlates to the
number of mice found in their house.
The correlation does imply causation. People with a mouse problem tend

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to have mouse traps in their houses.

STRETCH Optional
STRETCH
 Consider the points: (1, 2), (2, 3), (3, 2), (4, 5), (5, 2.5), (6, 6), (7, 3), (8, 7). The line of best fit for the
1. For x​ = 1, 1.9, 0.1​ graph of the points is y = 0.5x + 1.4.

For x​ = 2, 2.4, 0.6​ 1 Determine the predicted values of y for each value of x using the line of best fit, the values of
the differences between the observed y-values from the points, and the predicted values of y
For x​ = 3, 2.9. − 0.9​ from the line of best fit.
For x​ = 4, 3.4, 1.6​ 2 Determine whether there is a pattern in the differences between the observed and predicted
y-values. Explain what this might indicate about using the line of best fit to make predictions.
For x​ = 5, 3.9, − 1.4​
For x​ = 6, 4.4, 1.6​
160
160
Topic 3  Linear Regressions
For x​ = 7, 4.9, − 1.9​
For x​ = 8, 5.4, 1.6​
2. It does not make sense to
use a line of best fit because
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the differences between

the ​y​-values are increasing
rather than remaining
constant.

160 Topic 3  Linear Regressions