Cambridge (CIE) O Level Your notes
Maths
Scatter Graphs & Correlation
Contents
Scatter Graphs & Correlation
Lines of Best Fit
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Scatter Graphs & Correlation
Your notes
Correlation
What is correlation?
Correlation describes how two quantities are related to each other
Positive correlation is when one quantity increases and the other quantity increases
For example, as temperature increases, sales of cold drinks increase
Negative correlation is when one quantity decreases while the other quantity increases
For example, the value of a car decreases as its age increases
No (zero) correlation is where there is no apparent relationship
For example, the masses of snails and scores in an exam
What does the phrase "correlation does not imply
causation" mean?
If two quantities correlate, it does not mean that the first causes the second
For example, each day you record the height of a sunflower and the weight of a puppy
As the height of the sunflower increases, the weight of the puppy increases
This is a positive correlation
But you cannot claim that:
If you want your puppy to weigh more, make your sunflower taller!
Sunflowers grow better when puppies are heavier!
Both quantities may be increasing due to another reason
In this case, time
Scatter graphs
What are scatter graphs?
Scatter graphs (or scatter diagrams) are used to plot pairs of data
For example, students' Maths grades against their Physics grades
The vertical and horizontal axes represent the two quantities being measured
Points are plotted as crosses, ×
They are not joined up
The general shape formed by the points shows the type of correlation
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Positive correlation goes from bottom left to top right
A positive gradient Your notes
Negative correlation goes from top left to bottom right
A negative gradient
No (zero) correlation looks like a cloud of points
Correlations can be weak or strong
The stronger the correlation, the closer to a straight line the data points lie
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Your notes
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Lines of Best Fit
Your notes
Line of best fit
What is a line of best fit?
If a scatter graph suggests that there is a positive or negative correlation
a line of best fit can be drawn on the scatter graph
This can then be used to make predictions
How do I draw a line of best fit?
A line of best fit is drawn on by eye
It is a single-ruled straight line
It must extend across the full data set
It does not need to pass through any particular point(s)
There should roughly be as many points on either side of the line (along its whole
length)
If there is one extreme value (outlier) that does not fit the general pattern
then ignore this point when drawing a line of best fit
How do I use a line of best fit?
Once the line of best fit is drawn, you can use it to predict values
E.g. to estimate y when x = 5
Use the line to read off the y value when x is 5
It is best to use your line to predict values that lie within the region covered by the data
points
This is called interpolation
Be careful: if you extend your line too far away from the data points and try to predict
values, those parts of the line are unreliable!
This is called extrapolation
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Sliding a ruler around a scatter graph can help to find the right position for the line
of best fit!
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Worked Example Your notes
Sophie wants to know if the price of a computer is related to the speed of the
computer.
She tests 8 computers by running the same program on each, measuring how many
seconds it takes to finish.
Sophie's results are shown in the table below.
Price (£) 320 300 400 650 250 380 900 700
Time (secs) 3.2 5.4 4.1 2.8 5.1 4.3 2.6 3.7
(a) Draw a scatter diagram, showing the results on the axes below.
Plot each point carefully using crosses
(b) Write down the type of correlation shown and use it to form a suitable conclusion.
The shape formed by the points goes from top left to bottom right (a negative
gradient)
This is a negative correlation
As one quantity increases (price), the other decreases (time)
The graph shows a negative correlation
This means that the more a computer costs, the quicker it is at running the program
(c) Use a line of best fit to estimate the price of a computer that completes the task in
3.4 seconds.
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First draw a line of best fit, by eye
Then draw a horizontal line from 3.4 seconds to the line of best fit
Draw a vertical line down to read off the price Your notes
A computer that takes 3.4 seconds to run the program should cost around £620
A range of different answers will be accepted,
depending on the line of best fit
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