A scatterplot pairs two quantities, and an association describes their overall pattern. When asked what happens as increases, read the dots from left to right and see whether they generally rise, fall, or have no clear direction. Judge the direction by the vertical values, not by whether the outcome sounds good or bad.
Hints
- Hint 1
In a scatterplot, a dot’s horizontal position gives its -value, and its height gives its -value. What do the upper-left and lower-right dots each pair together?
- Hint 2
An association describes the overall trend, not just one dot. Trace the points from left to right as study time grows. Do their heights generally go up, go down, or stay level?
Step-by-step
Read the scatterplot from left to right
Step 1Read what the dots pair together
No Desmos needed. Read the pattern directly from the scatterplot. A dot’s horizontal position gives study hours, and its height gives quiz errors. So pairs hour with errors, while pairs hours with errors.
- Step 2
Trace the overall pattern
Look beyond those two dots at all the points. As you move from left to right, they go downward: higher study times go with lower error counts. The direction comes from what happens to , not from whether fewer errors are a good outcome.
- Step 3
Name the association
A negative association means tends to get smaller as gets larger. Track the height of the dots as you move right to identify the association’s direction. Here, as study time increases, quiz errors tend to decrease. Choice B.