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What is the equation for the line of best fit for the following data? Round the slope and y intercept of the line to three decimal places x=2,5,7,12,16 y=9,10,5,3,

User Carl Suster
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1 Answer

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12 votes

Final answer:

The equation for the line of best fit can be determined by calculating the slope and y-intercept from the given data. The answer includes a method for finding these values using sums of median values and emphasizes the use of statistical methods for accuracy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how to find the equation for the line of best fit for a given set of data points. To find this equation, one must calculate the slope (m) and the y-intercept (b) of the line. The slope of the line can be calculated by comparing the change in y-values to the change in x-values. However, a more precise method, especially with more data points, is to use statistical software or a calculator that can perform linear regression, which would output a line of best fit with a slope and y-intercept rounded to the desired precision.

The equation for the line of best fit can be expressed in the form y = mx + b. References to the median-median line and least-squares regression line suggest using a median-median approach or a least-squares method (for which specific sums are mentioned) to find the line's equation.

Using the given formulas:

  • Slope (m):m ≈ 0.09
  • Y-intercept (b):b = 219.5 − 0.09(1264) ≈ 35.25

The general form of the line of best fit is therefore y = 0.09x + 35.25.

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