Question

The graph shown below displays thechange in the number of hurricanes thatoccurred over time.Which statement is the best description ofthe association between these variables?Choose 1 answer:A) As time went by, the number of hurricanestended to increase.B) As time went by, the number of hurricanestended to decrease.C) There is no clear relationship between timeand the number of hurricanes thatoccurred.

Answer 1

The graph shows the number of hurricanes that have occurred in the Atlantic Ocean basin since 1970. There is no clear upward or downward trend in the data, so the best answer is C) There is no clear relationship between time and the number of hurricanes that occurred.

It is important to note that this graph only shows data for the Atlantic basin. The number of hurricanes in other parts of the world may have different trends. Additionally, this graph only shows data for the past 44 years. It is possible that a longer time series would show a different trend.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind when interpreting graphs like this:

The scale of the axes can affect how the data looks. For example, if the y-axis is scaled to show a large range of values, even small changes in the data will look like large fluctuations.

Correlation does not equal causation. Just because there is a relationship between two variables does not mean that one variable causes the other.

Answer 2

From the graph, it can be observed that number of hurricanes decreases as well as increases with increase in time (year since 1970). All points are distributed over the graph. So specific relation between number of hurricanes and time (year since 1970) can not be determined.

Thus option C is correct.