Question

(a) a golf instructor examined student data. she found that when a student takes longer to hit, it implies that the ball will land closer to the hole. what can she conclude? there is no correlation between amount of time before hitting and distance from the hole. there is a correlation between amount of time before hitting and distance from the hole. there may or may not be causation. further studies would have to be done to determine this. there is a correlation between amount of time before hitting and distance from the hole. there is probably also causation. this is because there is a decrease in the distance from the hole with an increase in the amount of time before hitting. (b) a city conducted a traffic study. it reported that having more signals does not indicate a shorter or longer commute time for drivers. what can be determined? there is no correlation between number of signals and commute time. there is a correlation between number of signals and commute time. however, there is no causation. this is because there is probably an increase in the commute time with an increase in the number of signals. there is a correlation between number of signals and commute time. there may or may not be causation. further studies would have to be done to determine this. (c) employees at a large office building took a survey. the results show that those who began work earlier tended to drink less tea.

Explanation:

(a) Since the golf instructor found that longer - hitting time implies the ball lands closer, there is a correlation and likely causation.
(b) The traffic study shows no indication of a relationship between number of signals and commute time, so no correlation.
(c) The survey shows a relationship between start - work time and tea - drinking amount, so there is a correlation, but causation is not clear without further study.

Answer:

(a) There is a correlation between amount of time before hitting and distance from the hole. There is probably also causation. This is because there is a decrease in the distance from the hole with an increase in the amount of time before hitting.
(b) There is no correlation between number of signals and commute time.
(c) There is a correlation between start - work time and amount of tea drunk. There may or may not be causation. Further studies would have to be done to determine this.