Scatter Plots & Line of Best Fit
Visualizing Relationships in Data
Explore different datasets and see how the line of best fit changes. Observe correlations between variables in each dataset!
Positive Correlation
y = 0.75x + 2.5
X Variable
Y Variable
Observation:
This dataset shows a positive correlation - as the x-value increases, the y-value tends to increase as well. The line of best fit has a positive slope.
The Science Behind Scatter Plots
Key Concepts:
Scatter plots visualize the relationship between two quantitative variables:
- Positive correlation: Points trend upward (both variables increase together)
- Negative correlation: Points trend downward (one increases as the other decreases)
- No correlation: Points show no discernible pattern
Line of Best Fit:
The line of best fit (or regression line) is a straight line that best represents the data on a scatter plot. It's calculated to minimize the sum of the squares of the vertical distances of the points from the line (least squares method).