Question

data were collected on life spans (in years) and gestation lengths (in days) for 62 mammals. a scatterplot of life span versus length of gestation is shown below.
(a) what type of an association is apparent between life span and length of gestation?
○ negative
○ positive
○ no association
(b) what type of an association would you expect to see if the axes of the plot were reversed, i.e., if we plotted length of gestation versus life span?
○ negative
○ positive
○ no association
(c) are life span and length of gestation independent? explain your reasoning.
life span and length of gestation select independent. mammals with longer gestation periods tend to have a select life span.

Explanation:

Step1: Analyze scatterplot trend

Observe that as gestation (x-axis) increases, life span (y-axis) generally increases.

Step2: Address axis reversal impact

Reversing axes does not change the direction of the association between the two variables.

Step3: Evaluate independence

If variables are independent, no consistent trend exists; here, a clear trend is present.

Answer:

(a) positive
(b) positive
(c) Life span and length of gestation are not independent. Mammals with longer gestation periods tend to have a longer life span.