Question

Hope researches the impact of one variable on another. She graphs the data from her research and sees that the data forms a shape that is similar to an arch. What conclusion can Hope draw from her graph?

Answer 1

The correct answer is:

She can determine that while there is an association between the variables, there is no correlation, and she cannot determine causation.

Explanation:

Since there is an arch shape to her graph, we know that as one variable changes, the other changes in the same manner. This means there is an association between the variables.

However, since the graph is not linear, there is no correlation between the variables. Since there is no correlation, we cannot determine causation.

Answer 2

Because the graph shows a pattern that is an arch shape, Hope can conclude that there is an association between the variables. However, because the relationship is not linear, there is no correlation. The pattern shows that as one variable changes, the other variable changes in the same way. This does not imply that a change in one variable causes the change in the other variable to happen. Hope cannot conclude that there is a causal relationship.