Question

Hal has a part-time job at an ice skating rink selling hot cocoa. He decided to plot the number of hot cocoas he sold relative to the day's high temperature and then draw the line of best fit. What does the line's y-intercept represent?

a. The number of hot cocoas sold.

b. The day's high temperature.

c. The rate of change.

d. The initial number of hot cocoas sold when the temperature is zero.

Answer 1

The line of best fit's y-intercept in Hal's plot represents the initial number of hot cocoas sold when the temperature is zero, which is where the line crosses the y-axis.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Hal plotted the number of hot cocoas sold against the day's high temperature and drew the line of best fit, the line's y-intercept represents a specific value.

The y-intercept is the value of the dependent variable when the independent variable (x) is zero. In Hal's case, the y-intercept represents the initial number of hot cocoas sold when the temperature is zero. It doesn't necessarily reflect a realistic scenario as it's unlikely to sell hot cocoa at 0 degrees, but in the context of the linear model, it is where the line crosses the y-axis.