Education Technology

Mathematics lessons for IB® Diploma Programme

Analysis and Approaches | Statistics and Probability

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Does a Correlation Exist?

Activity Overview

Students determine, by examining a graph, if a data set has a positive or negative correlation coefficient.

Key Steps

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Step 1

Students explore correlation coefficients and linear regression lines. Each problem contains a different data set and each problem has students investigate something different. They will create a scatter plot and use the calculator to find the equation of the regression.

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Step 2

Students use the regression line to find and predict an x-value when given a y-value and vice versa. They will also determine the difference between correlation and causation.

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Step 3

Lastly, students will explore the effect of extreme data point on the regression line. After changing a data point, they will update the linear regression line and equation to see the effect. They will also delete data points.