Question

A local ice cream shop kept track of the number of cans of cold soda it sold each day, and the temperature that day, for two months during the summer. The data are displayed in the scatterplot below. What is the purpose of the scatterplot?

1) To show the relationship between the number of cans of cold soda sold and the temperature
2) To display the daily sales of cold soda
3) To compare the sales of cold soda with other ice cream flavors
4) To analyze the impact of temperature on ice cream sales

Answer 1

The scatterplot is intended to display the relationship between the number of cans of cold soda sold and the temperature on each day, helping to determine if there is a correlation or causation between these two variables.

Step-by-step explanation:

The purpose of the scatterplot in the context provided is to show the relationship between the number of cans of cold soda sold and the temperature on a particular day. Scatterplots are used to determine if there is a relationship between two quantitative variables. In this case, the ice cream shop's scatterplot would likely display the number of cans of soda (dependent variable) on the y-axis and the temperature that day (independent variable) on the x-axis. By examining the pattern of the plotted points, one could potentially discern whether higher temperatures correlate to an increase in soda sales, indicating a possible causation or at least a strong association between the two variables. If the points on the scatterplot tend to rise together, this could suggest a positive correlation, and if they represent a clear linear pattern, they might be good candidates for linear regression analysis to quantify the relationship.