Question

temperature was used to predict the growth rate of sod on the sod farm. a least - squares regression line was fit to the data. it was found that the coefficient of determination was 0.78. what does that tell us?
78% of the variation in the growth rate of the sod is explained by the linear relationship with temperature.
a rise of 1 degree in temperature causes a 78% growth rate in the sod.
78% of the time, there is a linear relationship between temperature and the growth rate of the sod.
78% of the variation in temperature is explained by the linear relationship with the growth rate of the sod.

Explanation:

The coefficient of determination ($R^{2}$) measures the proportion of the variance in the dependent - variable (here, the growth rate of sod) that is predictable from the independent variable (temperature). A value of $R^{2}=0.78$ means that 78% of the variation in the growth rate of the sod can be accounted for by its linear relationship with temperature.

Answer:

78% of the variation in the growth rate of the sod is explained by the linear relationship with temperature.