Scatter graphs

3
CHAPTER 3.1
3 A head Scatter graphs
CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER

3.1 Scatter graphs and relationships

Scatter graphs can be used to investigate whether 30
there is a relationship between two quantities.
For example, a scatter graph could show the marks of 20
Maths
twelve students who took a test in science and in mark 16
maths. One of the students, Cath, scored 27 in science 10
and 16 in maths.
On the grid, the cross shows her pair of marks.
O 10 20 30 40
The table shows the test marks of the other 27
eleven students. Science mark

Science mark 5 19 35 7 33 29 23 9 36 17 32
Maths mark 6 15 21 10 22 21 18 7 25 13 19
Here is the completed scatter graph for all twelve students.

30

20
Maths
mark
10

O 10 20 30 40
Science mark

The pattern of the crosses on the scatter graph suggests that there is a relationship between the
science marks and the maths marks.
One way of describing the relationship is
As the science mark increases, the maths mark increases.
Scatter graphs can suggest other sorts of relationship between two quantities or even that there is
no relationship at all.

Example 1
The table shows, for each of ten men, his age and the number of his own teeth he has.

Age (years) 22 28 33 37 41 49 52 56 64 68
Number of own teeth 29 29 26 28 26 21 23 21 17 15
a Draw a scatter graph to show this information.
b Describe the relationship between the men’s ages and the number of their own teeth they have.
40
3.1 Scatter graphs and relationships CHAPTER 3

Solution 1
a b The older a man is, the fewer of his own
30 teeth he has.
(This relationship is true for these ten
20 men but, in the whole country, there are
Number
of own many men who do not fit this pattern.)
teeth 10

0
20 30 40 50 60 70
Age (years)

Example 2
The table shows the ages, in years, and the heights, in cm, of twelve women.

Age (years) 21 25 30 34 39 42 46 54 57 63 66 68
Height (cm) 175 162 173 154 177 148 157 152 168 164 143 171
a Draw a scatter graph to show this information.
b Describe the relationship, if any, between the women’s ages and their heights.
Solution 2
a b There is no pattern to the points and so
180 there is no obvious relationship between
the women’s ages and their heights.
Height
(cm) 160

140
20 30 40 50 60 70
Age (years)

Exercise 3A
1 The table shows the height, in cm, and the weight, in kg, of each of ten men.

Height (cm) 173 153 187 183 179 166 176 165 181 158
Weight (kg) 68 57 92 97 78 76 81 67 85 59

a On the resource sheet, complete the scatter graph to show the information in the table.
The first two points in the table have been plotted for you.

100

80
Weight
(kg)
60

40
150 160 170 180 190
Height (cm)

b Describe the relationship between the men’s heights and their weights.
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 CHAPTER 3 Scatter graphs

2 The table shows the birth weights, in kg, of ten babies and the average number of cigarettes per
day their mothers smoked during pregnancy.

Number of cigarettes 2 19 11 29 0 6 14 23 5 8
Birth weight (kg) 3.53 3.37 3.48 3.24 3.62 3.51 3.38 3.31 3.56 3.46

a On the resource sheet, complete the scatter graph to show the information in the table. The
first two points in the table have been plotted for you.

3.7

3.6

3.5
Birth weight
(kg)
3.4

3.3

3.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Number of cigarettes smoked per day by mother

b Describe the relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked per day by the mothers
during pregnancy and their babies’ birth weights.

3 The table shows the number of goals scored and the number of goals conceded by each of
twelve Premier League football teams in a recent season.

Number of
45 52 49 53 47 47 45 42 40 52 47 32
goals scored
Number of
46 41 44 46 39 41 52 58 46 60 57 43
goals conceded

a On the resource sheet, complete the scatter graph to show the information in the table.
The first point in the table has been plotted for you.

60

Number 50
of goals
conceded
40

30
30 40 50 60
Number of goals scored

b Describe the relationship, if any, between the number of goals scored by the teams and the
number of goals they conceded.
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3.1 Scatter graphs and relationships CHAPTER 3

4 Nick sells ice creams. The table shows the noon temperature and the number of ice creams he
sells each day for a fortnight.

Noon
temperature 20 28 18 24 30 22 21 16 29 19 27 26 23 27
(°C)
Number of
70 86 58 76 97 78 65 58 91 63 93 91 79 82
ice creams

a On the resource sheet, complete the scatter graph to show the information in the table. The
first two points in the table have been plotted for you.

100

Number 80
of ice
creams
60

40
15 20 25 30
Noon temperature (°C)

b Describe the relationship between the noon temperatures and the number of ice creams Nick
sells.

5 The table shows the number of hours of sunshine and the rainfall, in mm, each month in England
in 2004.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
No of hours 51 87 107 136 204 200 169 176 160 97 50 53
of sunshine
Rainfall 152 49 48 78 43 56 67 148 53 131 47 59
(mm)

a On the resource sheet, complete the scatter graph to show the information in the table.
The first two points in the table have been plotted for you.

160

120
Rainfall
(mm)
80

40
40 80 120 160 200
Number of hours of sunshine

b Describe the relationship, if any, between the number of hours of sunshine and the
rainfall.
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 CHAPTER 3 Scatter graphs

6 The table shows some annual mileages of a car and the running costs per mile, in pence, of the
car for those mileages.

Annual
mileage 4000 6500 8000 10 000 12 000 14 500 18 500 22 000 27 500 29 500
Running
costs
53 48 42 34 32 31 25 24 21 23
per mile
(pence)

a On the resource sheet, complete the scatter graph to show the information in the table.
The first two points in the table have been plotted for you.

60

50
Running
costs per
40
mile (pence)

30

20
0 5000 10 000 15 000 20 000 25 000 30 000
Annual mileage

b Describe the relationship between the car’s annual mileage and its running costs per mile.

3.2 Lines of best fit and correlation

On the scatter graph at the beginning of this chapter, it is possible to draw a straight line which
passes near all the points. This line is called a line of best fit.

30

20
Maths
mark
10 Use a ruler to draw a
line of best fit.

O 10 20 30 40
Science mark

A line of best fit does not have to pass through any of the points, although it can, and there should
be roughly equal numbers of points on each side of the line.
If a line of best fit can be drawn, then there may be a relationship, called a correlation, between the
quantities.
Maths marks increase as science marks increase. When one quantity increases as the other increases,
the correlation is called positive correlation.
44
3.3 Using lines of best fit CHAPTER 3

When one quantity decreases as the other increases, the line of best fit slopes in the opposite
direction to the one above and the correlation is called negative correlation. The scatter graph in
Example 1 shows negative correlation.

30

Number 20
of own
teeth
10

0
20 30 40 50 60 70
Age (years)

It is not possible to draw a line of best fit on the scatter graph in Example 2, as there is no pattern to
the points. So there is no correlation or zero correlation between a woman’s age and her height.

If the points are all close to the line of

best fit, the correlation is called high or
strong.

High positive High negative

correlation correlation

If the points are not all close to the line

of best fit, the correlation is called low
or weak.

Low positive Low negative

correlation correlation

3.3 Using lines of best fit

If the value of only one of the two quantities
30
is known, lines of best fit can be used to estimate
the value of the other quantity.
Maths 20
For example, to estimate the maths mark of mark
a student whose science mark is 13, draw a vertical
11 10
line up from 13 to the line of best fit. Then draw a
horizontal line across and read
off the maths mark, 11.
O 10 20 30 40
13
Science mark

Using lines of best fit outside the range of the plotted points can give estimates which are unreliable
or even ridiculous. Extending the line of best fit on the scatter graph in Example 1 and using it to
estimate the number of teeth for a 20-year-old man gives an answer of 33 but people with all their
own teeth normally have only 32!
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 CHAPTER 3 Scatter graphs

Exercise 3B
1 The table shows the marks scored by ten students in an English exam and a history exam.

English 20 87 56 42 96 92 41 32 86 52
History 8 49 32 22 55 52 14 10 52 23

a On the resource sheet, draw a scatter graph to show the information in the table.

60

40
History

20

O 20 40 60 80 100
English
‘Describe the correlation’ means state
whether it is positive or negative. It is
b Describe the correlation between the not necessary to say whether it is
marks scored in the two exams. high or low. A description of the
c Draw a line of best fit on your scatter graph. relationship is not acceptable.
d Use your line of best fit to estimate
i the history mark of a student whose English mark is 70
ii the English mark of a student whose history mark is 44

2 The table shows the outdoors temperature, in °C, at noon on ten days and the number of units
of electricity used in heating a house on each of those days.

Noon temperature (°C) 9 2 0 4 11 10 12 5 3 1

Units of electricity used 25 39 44 34 23 24 21 32 36 42

a On the resource sheet, draw a scatter graph to show the information in the table.

40

Units of
electricity 30
used

20
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Temperature (°C)

b Which of these three terms best describes the relationship between the temperature and the
number of units of electricity used?
positive correlation negative correlation no correlation
c Draw a line of best fit on your scatter graph.
d Use your line of best fit to estimate
i the number of units of electricity used when the outdoors temperature was 8°C,
ii the outdoors temperature when 30 units of electricity were used.

46
3.3 Using lines of best fit CHAPTER 3

3 The table shows the inflation rate and the unemployment rate in the UK every two years from
1982 to 2000

Year 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Inflation rate (%) 8.6 5.0 3.4 4.9 9.5 3.7 2.5 2.5 3.4 3.0
Unemployment 9.0 10.1 10.5 7.6 5.5 9.2 8.8 7.0 4.5 3.6
rate (%)

a On the resource sheet, draw a scatter graph to show the information in the table.

10

Unemployment
rate (%) 6

2
2 4 6 8 10
Inflation rate (%)

b Which of these three terms best describes the relationship between the inflation rate and the
unemployment rate?
positive correlation negative correlation zero correlation

4 Complete the table on the resource sheet to show whether there is a positive correlation, a
negative correlation or no correlation between the quantities. The first one has been done for
you.

Positive Negative No
correlation correlation correlation
ages of cars and their value

heights of women and their weekly pay
the number of students and the
number of teachers in a school
the distance a motorist drives and
the amount of petrol used
the hat sizes of students and their
GCSE maths marks
the amount of rain one day at a
seaside town and the number of
people on the beach

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 CHAPTER 3 Scatter graphs

5 The table shows, for ten cities, the highest temperature, in °C, and the number of hours of
sunshine one day in September.

Highest temperature (°C) 20 33 14 21 29 25 16 26 19 24

Number of hours of sunshine 6 10 5 7 9 8 5 8 6 7

a On the resource sheet, draw a scatter graph to show the information in the table.

15

Number 10
of hours of
sunshine
5

0
10 15 20 25 30
Highest temperature (°C)

b On the same day, in St. Petersburg, the highest temperature was 16 °C and there were
13 hours of sunshine. Plot this information on the scatter graph.
c For the eleven cities, comment on the relationship between the highest temperature
and the number of hours of sunshine.

6 The scatter graph shows the age and the price of 15 Vector cars.
A line of best fit has been drawn.

10 000

8000

6000
Price
(£)
4000

2000

O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Age (years)

a Describe the correlation between the age of the Vector and its price.
b Use the line of best fit to find
i the price of a 6-year-old Vector,
ii the age of a Vector that costs £6200
c Why would it not be sensible to use the line of best fit to estimate the price of an 11-year-old
Vector?

48
Chapter 3 review questions CHAPTER 3

Chapter summary
You should now know:
 how to draw a scatter graph
 how to describe the relationship, if any, suggested by a scatter graph
 how to draw a line of best fit
 how to use a line of best fit
 the meaning of correlation and how a line of best fit can be used to show it
 how to recognise positive correlation, negative correlation and no correlation or zero
correlation

Positive Negative No correlation

correlation correlation (Zero correlation)

Chapter 3 review questions

1 The scatter graph shows
information about eight 80
countries.
For each country, it 70
shows the birth rate Life
and the life expectancy, expectancy 60
in years. (years)

The table shows the 50

birth rate and the life
expectancy for six more 40
countries. 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Birth rate

Birth rate 25 28 30 31 34 38
Life expectancy (years) 68 65 62 61 65 61

a On the scatter graph on the resource sheet, plot the information from the table.
b Describe the relationship between the birth rate and the life expectancy.
c Draw a line of best fit on the scatter graph.
The birth rate in a country is 42
d Use your line of best fit to estimate the life expectancy in that country.
The life expectancy in a different country is 66 years.
e Use your line of best fit to estimate the birth rate in that country. (1385 June 2000)

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 CHAPTER 3 Scatter graphs

2 Ten men took part in a long jump competition.

The table shows the heights of the ten men and the best jumps they made.

Best jump (m) 5.33 6.00 5.00 5.95 4.80 5.72 4.60 5.80 4.40 5.04
Height of men (m) 1.70 1.80 1.65 1.75 1.65 1.74 1.60 1.75 1.60 1.67

1.80

1.75

1.70
Height
(m)
1.65

1.60

1.55
4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 6.0
Best jump (m)

a On the grid on the resource sheet, plot the points as a scatter diagram.
b Describe the relationship between the height and the best jump.
c Draw in a line of best fit.
d Use your line of best fit to estimate
i the height of a man who could make a best jump of 5.2 m,
ii the best jump of a man of height 1.73 m. (1385 November 1998)

3 The scatter graph shows some information

about six new-born baby apes. 1.8

For each baby ape, it shows the mother’s

leg length and the baby ape’s birth 1.7
weight. Baby apeʼs
1.6
The table shows the mother’s leg length birth(kg)
weight

and the birth weight for two more baby

apes. 1.5

a On the scatter graph on the resource

sheet, plot the information from the 1.4
40 50 60 70
table. Motherʼs leg length (cm)
b Describe the correlation between
a mother’s leg length and the
Mother’s leg length (cm) 50 65
baby ape’s birth weight.
c Draw a line of best fit on the diagram. Baby ape’s birth weight (kg) 1.6 1.75

A mother’s leg length is 55 cm.

d Use your line of best fit to estimate the birth weight of the baby ape. (1387 June 2005)

50
Chapter 3 review questions CHAPTER 3

4 A park has an outdoor swimming pool.

The scatter graph shows the maximum 3000
temperature and the number of people who
used the pool on ten Saturdays in summer. 2500
a Describe the correlation between the
maximum temperature and the number 2000
of people who used the pool.
Number
b Draw a line of best fit on the scatter of 1500
graph on the resource sheet. people

The weather forecast for next Saturday gives 1000

a maximum temperature of 27°C.
c Use your line of best fit to estimate the 500
number of people who will use the pool.
0
10 15 20 25 30 35
Maximum temperature in °C
(1385 November 1999)

5 The scatter graph shows some information about seven children.

It shows the age of each child and the number of hours sleep each child had last night.

16

14

12
Number
of hours
sleep
10

6
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Age (years)

The table shows the ages of four more children and the number of hours sleep each of them had
last night.

Age (years) 10 11 12 13
Number of hours sleep 11 10 10.5 9.6

a On the scatter graph on the resource sheet, plot the information from the table.
b Describe the correlation between the age, in years, of the children and the number of hours
sleep they had last night.
c Draw a line of best fit on the diagram.
d Use your line of best fit to estimate the number of hours sleep for an 8 year old child.
(1385 June 2002)

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 CHAPTER 3 Scatter graphs

6 a Here is a scatter graph. One axis is labelled ‘weight’.

i For this graph state the type of correlation.
ii From this list choose an appropriate axis for
the other axis.
shoe size, length of hair, height, hat size, length of arm.
Weight

b Here is another scatter graph with one axis labelled ‘weight’.

i For this graph state the type of correlation.
ii From this list, choose an appropriate label for the other axis.
shoe size, distance around neck, waist measurement,
GCSE Maths mark
Weight
(1385 June 2000)

7 The table shows information about the percentage share of daily viewing hours of ITV1 and
cable/satellite channels from 1992 until 2002.
Year ITV1 Cable/satellite
channels
1992 41 5
1993 40 6
1994 39 7
1995 37 9
1996 35 10
1997 33 12
1998 32 13
1999 31 14
2000 29 17
2001 27 20
2002 24 22

Here is a scatter graph for the

information from 1992 to 1998 30
a On the scatter graph on Cable
the resource sheet, plot the satellite 20
information for 1999, 2000, channelsʼ
percentage
2001 and 2002 share 10
b Describe the relationship between ITV1’s
percentage share of the daily viewing
0
hours and the percentage share of 20 25 30 35 40 45
cable/satellite channels. ITV1ʼs percentage share
c Draw a line of best fit on the scatter graph.
In 2003, cable/satellite channels had a 24% share of daily viewing hours.
d Use your line of best fit to estimate ITV1’s percentage share in 2003

52