![]() ![]() However, eating ice creams do not cause people to drown. We consider examples such as the number of ice creams sold and drownings would correlate in the summer months as increased temperatures causes people to go swimming and eat ice cream. In the next lesson we go on to discuss the limitation of using scatter graphs and correlation to identify causation. I do my best to keep out of the way and let the students manage the data collection so it is fair and accurate. Whenever I do this it amazes me which student steps up to take charge of organising everyone. This is a fun activity which requires the group to work together so everyone has everybody else’s data. Before we collect any data, I ask the students to write down their own hypothesis at the top of the A4 graph paper. The line of best fit passes through each of the points.Ĭreating Scatter Graphs from Primary DataĪs an extended plenary I challenge the students to create a scatter graph based on their own hand and foot size. In my experience, there are three main misconceptions when drawing lines of best fit. It is noted in several examiners reports by AQA and Edexcel that students are more likely to correctly estimate the value of a missing data point and identify anomalous data points if they use a line of best fit. The line of best fit also helps to predict the value of one variable when the other is known. We discuss the strength of the correlation as an indication of how closely two variables are related. The closer the points are to the line of best fit the stronger the correlation. Line of Best FitĪ line of best fit can be used to clearly illustrate the directional trend of the data. If two variables are not related the points will be scattered so no correlation is apparent. The scatter diagram graphs pairs of numerical data, with one variable on each axis, to look for a relationship between them. A negative correlation means as one variable increases the other will decrease.A positive correlation means as one variable increases, or decreases, so does the other.Each member of the dataset gets plotted as a point. When the points on a scatterplot graph produce a lower-left-to-upper-right pattern (see below), we say that there is a positive correlation between the two variables. When we have plotted the points, I introduce the term correlation as a means to describe the relationship between two variables. A scatterplot is a type of data display that shows the relationship between two numerical variables. Correlation Patterns in Scatterplot Graphs Examining a scatterplot graph allows us to obtain some idea about the relationship between two variables. In later examples on plotting scatter graphs and understanding correlation I expect students to choose and draw their own axes on A4 graph paper with appropriate scaling. I ask the class to sketch on their mini-whiteboards what the scatter graph might look like if our hypothesis is correct.įor the first couple of examples I provide the scaled axes for the class. The consensus is the more time people spend reading the less time they are likely to spend watching TV. Plotting Scatter Graphs and Understanding CorrelationĪs we begin the first example we discuss the type of relationship we expect to see when time spent reading is plotted against time spent watching TV for a sample of ten people. ![]()
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