Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A made-up reading club records, for six members, the minutes spent reading one evening and the pages read: , , , , and , with minutes first. A volunteer types the last page count as in place of . Find for the correct data and for the typed data, to four decimal places.
measures straight-line patterns only. A curve can give near , one outlier can change a lot, and a narrow range of usually lowers . Changing units, or adding a number, leaves alone; multiplying by a negative number changes its sign.
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. Correct data. minutes and pages. , and . So .
Step 2. Typed data. Now pages, and . So .
Answer: for the correct data and for the typed data.
Watch out. A single typing mistake has hidden a very strong pattern. A scatter plot would show the stray point at once, far below the others.
Log in to join the discussion.
Loading…