Babies typically learn to crawl approximately 6 months after birth. However, it may take longer for babies to learn to crawl in the winter, when they are often bundled in clothes that restrict their movement. Thus, there may be an association between a baby's crawling age and the average temperature during the month they first try to crawl. Below are the average ages (in weeks) at which babies began to crawl for a sample of babies born in each of the 12 months of the year. In addition, the average temperature (in °F) for the month that is 6 months after the birth month is listed.
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$\begin{array} { | l | l | l | } \hline \text { Birth month } & \text { Average crawling age } & \text { Average temperature } \\\hline \text { January } & 29.84 & 66 \\\hline \text { February } & 30.52 & 73 \\\hline \text { March } & 29.70 & 72 \\\hline \text { April } & 31.84 & 63 \\\hline \text { May } & 28.58 & 52 \\\hline \text { June } & 31.44 & 39 \\\hline \text { July } & 33.64 & 33 \\\hline \text { August } & 32.82 & 30 \\\hline \text { September } & 33.83 & 33 \\\hline \text { October } & 33.35 & 37 \\\hline \text { November } & 33.38 & 48 \\\hline \text { December } & 32.32 & 57 \\\hline\end{array}$ We want to investigate whether the average age at which infants begin to crawl (y) can be predicted from the average outdoor temperature (x) 6 months after birth, when the babies are likely to begin crawling. We decide to fit a least-squares regression line to the data, with x as the explanatory variable and y as the response variable. We compute the following quantities:
R = correlation between x and y = -0.7
X?= mean of the values of x = 50.25
?= mean of the values of y = 31.77
S_x = standard deviation of the values of x = 15.85
S_y = standard deviation of the values of y = 1.76
Which value gives the fraction of the variation in the values of a response y that is explained by the least-squares regression of y on x?

Question

Babies typically learn to crawl approximately 6 months after birth. However, it may take longer for babies to learn to crawl in the winter, when they are often bundled in clothes that restrict their movement. Thus, there may be an association between a baby's crawling age and the average temperature during the month they first try to crawl. Below are the average ages (in weeks) at which babies began to crawl for a sample of babies born in each of the 12 months of the year. In addition, the average temperature (in °F) for the month that is 6 months after the birth month is listed.
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\begin{array} { | l | l | l | } \hline \text { Birth month } & \text { Average crawling age } & \text { Average temperature } \\\hline \text { January } & 29.84 & 66 \\\hline \text { February } & 30.52 & 73 \\\hline \text { March } & 29.70 & 72 \\\hline \text { April } & 31.84 & 63 \\\hline \text { May } & 28.58 & 52 \\\hline \text { June } & 31.44 & 39 \\\hline \text { July } & 33.64 & 33 \\\hline \text { August } & 32.82 & 30 \\\hline \text { September } & 33.83 & 33 \\\hline \text { October } & 33.35 & 37 \\\hline \text { November } & 33.38 & 48 \\\hline \text { December } & 32.32 & 57 \\\hline\end{array}

We want to investigate whether the average age at which infants begin to crawl (y) can be predicted from the average outdoor temperature (x) 6 months after birth, when the babies are likely to begin crawling. We decide to fit a least-squares regression line to the data, with x as the explanatory variable and y as the response variable. We compute the following quantities:
R = correlation between x and y = -0.7
X?= mean of the values of x = 50.25
?= mean of the values of y = 31.77
S_x = standard deviation of the values of x = 15.85
S_y = standard deviation of the values of y = 1.76
Which value gives the fraction of the variation in the values of a response y that is explained by the least-squares regression of y on x?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The square of the correlation coefficient (R^2) gives the fraction of the variation in the values of a response y that is explained by the least-squares regression of y on x. In this case, R^2 = (-0.7)^2 = 0.49, which means that 49% of the variation in the crawling age of babies can be explained by the average outdoor temperature when they are 6 months old.

Babies Typically Learn to Crawl Approximately 6 Months After Birth