Question

from unit 3, lesson 9
an airline company creates a scatter plot showing the relationship between the number of flights an airport offers and the average distance, in miles, travelers must drive to reach the airport. the correlation coefficient of the line of best fit is -0.52.

a. are the number of flights offered and average distance driven to the airport correlated? explain your reasoning.

b. do either of the variables cause the other to change? explain your reasoning.
b. there is an outlier at the lower end of the data.
c. there are outliers on both ends of the data.
d. there is not enough information to determine whether there are any outliers.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze correlation coefficient

The correlation coefficient \(r=- 0.52\). Since \(|r| = 0.52\) and \(0<|r|<1\), there is a non - zero linear relationship, so the variables are correlated.

Step2: Understand causation

Correlation does not imply causation. Just because there is a relationship between the number of flights and the average distance driven does not mean that one variable causes the other. There could be other factors (lurking variables) that affect both, such as population density around the airport, availability of alternative transportation hubs etc.

Answer:

a. Yes, the number of flights offered and average distance driven to the airport are correlated.
b. No, neither variable necessarily causes the other to change.