Five strains of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria were grown for 24 hours either at 35 degrees Celsius or at 43 degrees Celsius. Here are the resulting bacterial counts for each condition:
$\begin{array}{c}
\begin{array}{lll}
\text{24 hours at 35 degrees Celsius}\
66\
71\
93\
102\
62
\end{array}
\begin{array}{lll}
\text{24 hours at 43 degrees Celsius}\
98 \
67 \
42 \
31 \
77
\end{array}
\end{array}$ Suppose we had plotted bacterial count at 35 degrees Celsius on the y axis instead of the x axis. How would this change affect the value of the correlation coefficient?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correlation coefficient is independent of the axes on which the variables are plotted, meaning it does not change if the variables are swapped between the x and y axes.

Five Strains of the Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteria Were Grown for 24