When is the correlation coefficient zero?
A)never
B)when there is no linear correlation
C)when there is a perfect positive linear correlation
D)when there is a perfect negative linear correlation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The correlation coefficient measures the degree and direction of the linear relationship between two variables. A correlation coefficient of zero indicates that there is no linear correlation between the variables. However, there may still be a non-linear relationship between the variables, so option A is not correct. Options C and D indicate perfect positive and negative linear correlations, respectively, which means the correlation coefficient will be either +1.0 or -1.0. Therefore, the best answer is B, which is when there is no linear correlation between the variables.

When Is the Correlation Coefficient Zero