Question

A study has shown that the more books in a US household, the stronger the academic performance of the children in the family will be. Anne says that this means that children's academic performance is caused by the number of books in the household. Eduardo disagrees and says that they are only correlated, and the cause is something else. Who do you think is right? Justify your reasoning.

Answer 1

Both Anne and Eduardo have valid points. The study shows a correlation between the number of books in a household and children's academic performance, but correlation does not imply causation. More research is needed to determine the cause.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the given scenario, both Anne and Eduardo have valid points. The study showed a correlation between the number of books in a US household and the academic performance of the children. This means that as the number of books in a household increase, the academic performance of the children tends to be stronger.

However, correlation does not necessarily imply causation. It is possible that there is another factor influencing both the number of books in a household and the academic performance of the children, such as parents' education level or their emphasis on education.

Therefore, while the study suggests a strong correlation, it does not prove that the number of books is the cause of children's academic performance. More research is needed to determine the underlying cause.