Final answer:
The correlation coefficient, r, measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables.
Step-by-step explanation:
The correlation coefficient, r, measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables. It provides a numerical value between -1 and 1. A positive value of r indicates a positive linear relationship, meaning that as one variable increases, the other variable tends to increase as well. Conversely, a negative value of r indicates a negative linear relationship, where as one variable increases, the other variable tends to decrease.