Scatter Plots & Correlation

Example

A doctor wanted to determine if there was a relationship between age (x) and the number of illnesses a person has per year (y). He gathered the data in the table shown below. Display the data on a scatter plot and determine whether there appears to be a positive or negative linear correlation or no correlation.


Solution: From the scatter plot, there appears to be a negative linear correlation. Reading the scatter plot from left to right, as age increases, the number of illnesses per year decreases.