A.3.9.2 Cause or Effect?
The mathematical purpose of this activity is for you to describe how two variables are related, and to determine whether or not there is a causal relationship. Hopefully you are beginning to recognize that some variables may be related, but this may or may not cause the other to change. At this point, the mathematics of scatter plot analysis cannot decide whether there is a causal relationship. The relationship must be thought through carefully to decide, based on the situation, whether the related variables have a causal relationship.
You may need to consider what other factors relate an increased x-value and how that influences the y-value.
Each of the scatter plots show a strong relationship. Write a sentence or two describing how you think the variables are related.
During the month of April, Elena keeps track of the number of inches of rain recorded for the day and the percentage of people who come to school with rain jackets.
A school book club has a list of 100 books for its members to read. They keep track of
the number of pages in the books the members read from the list and the amount of time it took to read the book.
Number of tickets left for holiday parties at a venue and noise level at the party.
Children who are taller are usually older, so they have had more time to be in school and learn more vocabulary.