Consider the following to answer the question(s) below:
A consumer research group investigating the relationship between the price of meat (per kilogram) and the fat content (grams) gathered data that produced the following scatterplot.
-A student wants to investigate the association between number of cases of mosquito-borne diseases and ice cream sales in the campus area. Which of the following statements is true?
A) It looks like there is a strong positive correlation.
B) It looks like there is a strong negative correlation.
C) The variables are not quantitative, so the student reports about a strong positive association.
D) The variables are not quantitative, so the student reports about nonlinear association.
E) There is a lurking variable, weather, in this study. As the weather grows warmer, more people buy ice cream and more people go outside.

Question

Consider the following to answer the question(s) below:
A consumer research group investigating the relationship between the price of meat (per kilogram) and the fat content (grams) gathered data that produced the following scatterplot. 
-A student wants to investigate the association between number of cases of mosquito-borne diseases and ice cream sales in the campus area. Which of the following statements is true?
A) It looks like there is a strong positive correlation. 
B) It looks like there is a strong negative correlation. 
C) The variables are not quantitative, so the student reports about a strong positive association. 
D) The variables are not quantitative, so the student reports about nonlinear association. 
E) There is a lurking variable, weather, in this study. As the weather grows warmer, more people buy ice cream and more people go outside.

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

There is likely a lurking variable, weather, in this study that affects both the number of cases of mosquito-borne diseases and ice cream sales. As the weather grows warmer, both more people buy ice cream and more people are exposed to mosquitoes, which could explain any observed association between the two variables. Therefore, the student should consider weather in their analysis or design a study that can deconfound the effects of weather. Additionally, because the variables are not quantitative, the student cannot report about correlation or association but may still observe patterns or trends.

Consider the Following to Answer the Question(s) Below