Final answer:
The statement is b) False. The r-squared statistic can still be non-zero for a negative correlation between x and y.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement is b) False. When the correlation coefficient between x and y is negative, it means that there is a negative linear relationship between the two variables. However, the r-squared statistic yielded by a regression of y on x will not necessarily be very close to zero. The r-squared statistic measures the proportion of the variation in the dependent variable (y) that is explained by the independent variable (x). Even with a negative correlation, there can still be a significant amount of the variation in y that can be explained by x, resulting in a non-zero r-squared value.