Final answer:
We use technology to create a line of best fit primarily to save time, ensure accuracy, and produce professional-looking graphs. While technology performs the calculations needed for these lines, it does not inherently help users practice the underlying formulas.
Step-by-step explanation:
We use technology to create a line of best fit for several important reasons:
- To save time: Manually calculating the best-fit line involves a series of complex calculations that can be quite time-consuming.
- For professional-looking graphs: Technology provides the tools to create neat and accurate representations of data, which enhances the understandability and credibility of the analysis.
- To avoid mistakes during repetitive calculations: The potential for human error is high when performing repetitive calculations by hand, but technology can automate these processes and increase accuracy.
While technology does use formulas to find the line of best fit, this doesn't necessarily help us practice the formulas, as the computations are done internally by the software or calculator. Similarly, technology doesn't provide the formulas directly but rather the result of applying them.
Using tools such as computer spreadsheets, statistical software, and calculators like TI-83, TI-83+, and TI-84+ allow students to focus on the interpretation of data rather than the mundane arithmetic. This can be especially useful when working with scatter plots and applying the least-squares regression method to find the best-fit line for a given dataset.