Suppose a scatterplot shows a weak negative linear coorelation. Which of the following statements is true ?

Options

A. The slope of the lone of best fit will be a number less than -1.
B. The slope of the lone of best fit will be a number between -1 and 0.
C. The data points will follow, but not closely, the line of best fit, which has a negative slope.
D. The data points will be closely gathered around the line of best, fit, which has a negative slope.

Answer

C

Explanation

"Correlation" simply means relationship. The word "weak" refers to the strength of the relationship (how close the data lies to the line of best fit), which has no effect on slope. Be careful not to confuse slope and strength. The fact that a data set shows a weak correlation does not give you any information about the magnitude of the slope. This means you can eliminate (A) and (B). Also, keep in mind that the terms "weak" and "negative" are not related, but rather are two independent descriptors of the correlation. So the fact that the rate of change is negative has nothing to do with the strength of the correlation. In a weak correlation, the data points will loosely follow the line of best fit, which makes (C ) the correct answer.