Statistics and probability
- Constructing a scatter plot
- Constructing scatter plots
- Making appropriate scatter plots
- Example of direction in scatterplots
- Scatter plot: smokers
- Bivariate relationship linearity, strength and direction
- Positive and negative linear associations from scatter plots
- Describing trends in scatter plots
- Positive and negative associations in scatterplots
- Outliers in scatter plots
- Clusters in scatter plots
- Describing scatterplots (form, direction, strength, outliers)
- Scatterplots and correlation review
Scatterplots and correlation review
A scatterplot is a type of data display that shows the relationship between two numerical variables. Each member of the dataset gets plotted as a point whose x-y coordinates relates to its values for the two variables.
What is a scatterplot?
A scatterplot is a type of data display that shows the relationship between two numerical variables. Each member of the dataset gets plotted as a point whose coordinates relates to its values for the two variables.
For example, here is a scatterplot that shows the shoe sizes and quiz scores for students in a class:
A graph plots Score on the y-axis, versus Shoe size on the x-axis. Approximately 2 dozen points are scattered sporadically between x = 5.5 and x = 11, and between y = 52 and y = 87. All values estimated.
Each data point is a student whose -coordinate gives their shoe size and -coordinate gives their quiz score.
Want to learn more about constructing scatterplots? Check out this video.
What is correlation?
We often see patterns or relationships in scatterplots.
When the variable tends to increase as the variable increases, we say there is a positive correlation between the variables.
A scatterplot plots points x y axis. Approximately 2 dozen points are rise diagonally in a relatively narrow patterm between (1 half, 1 half) and (9, 7 and 1 half). All values estimated.
When the variable tends to decrease as the variable increases, we say there is a negative correlation between the variables.
A scatterplot plots points x y axis. Approximately 2 dozen points are fall diagonally in a relatively narrow patterm between (1 half, 6) and (8, 2). All values estimated.
When there is no clear relationship between the two variables, we say there is no correlation between the two variables.
A scatterplot plots points x y axis. Approximately 2 dozen points are scattered sporadically between x = 1 half and x = 9, and between y = 2 and y = 9. All values estimated.
Want to learn more about types of correlation? Check out this video.
The graph shown below shows the relationship between the age of drivers and the number of car accidents per drivers in the year .
What is the best description of this relationship?
The scatterplot falls diagonally in a relatively narrow pattern.
Want to practice more problems like these? Check out this exercise on positive and negative correlations.
Want to join the conversation?
- Would a V shaped scatter plot have positive correlation, negative correlation, or no correlation?(6 votes)
- If a V shaped scatter plot is perfectly symmetric, there would be no (linear) correlation. So if a V shaped scatter plot is nearly symmetric, there is expected to be little or no (linear) correlation.(23 votes)
- If you had an "O" shape, would it have a positive, negative, or no linear relationship?(5 votes)
- If it was a perfectly symmetrical shape, there would be no correlation, but in real life that wouldn't happen. So if there was a scatterplot where all of the points formed a near 'O' shape, there would be very little correlation.(1 vote)
- if you had an X shape as the scatter plot would that have a negative, positive or no correlation(2 votes)
- It is unlikely that there wouldn't be any correlation at all, but it would be very weak for sure, so the correlation coefficient would tend towards zero, and thereby the slope of the regression line would also be close to zero.(2 votes)
- What if the data is clumping in one corner?(0 votes)
- Then it would have no linear correlation, and should be marked as having no correlation/no linear correlation.(4 votes)
- what correlation would a straight vertical line scatter plot be(1 vote)
- I feel good about my knowledge of scatter plots.(1 vote)
- Mary is making a scatter plot from two data sets. One set of data gives the amount of precipitation in inches. The second data set is the number of umbrellas sold. Which type of correlation would you expect?(0 votes)
- Making the precipitation the "x-values" and the number of umbrellas sold the "y-values", I would say that the scatter plot would have a positive correlation; people should generally buy more umbrellas as the amount of rain increases.
Hope this helps!😄(2 votes)
- Hi! my name is Emmy.
I don't how they make to put the point? Thx for answer me.(0 votes)
- So, you will most likely have a graph or a table that tells you what you plot on your scatter graph/ scatterplot. For example, you have the height and weight of a student named Emmy, like you! Let's say (may this not be offensive in any way) that you are 140 cm tall (for height) and 45 kg (for weight). Maybe we can put the height on the y axis and the weight on the x axis. Find 45 on the x axis and go up until you reach the same line as 140 on the y axis. This is how you make and use a scatterplot/ scatter graph. Hope I helped you!(1 vote)
- How would I know when there's a correlation between two variables that only has a few points.(0 votes)
- You kinda don't. You just have to depend on that those few points are good enough.(3 votes)
- How would I find the correlation coefficient(0 votes)