Final answer:
When a scatter plot has a linear pattern, there is a linear relationship between the variables. If this linear pattern is observed in the scatter plot, then the X and Y variables would be good candidates for linear regression.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a scatter plot has a linear pattern, we say there is a linear relationship between the variables being plotted. This means that as one variable increases, the other variable tends to increase or decrease at a constant rate.
In terms of linear regression, the X and Y variables would be good candidates if they exhibit a strong linear pattern in the scatter plot. This can be observed by looking at the data points and seeing if they roughly follow a straight line.
Example: If we have a scatter plot of hours studied vs. test scores, and the points form a straight line with a positive slope, we can conclude that there is a linear relationship and the variables would be good candidates for linear regression.