Question

When creating lines of best fit, do you believe that estimation by inspection of the equation is best or do you think it should be determined exactly? In what situations would it be best to use one over the other?

Answer 1

Estimation by inspection is better than trying to determine the line of best fit exactly

i) For a scatter plot : The use of estimation by inspection

ii) For a straight line graph : The exact determination method

Explanation:

To create lines of best fit the estimation by inspection is better than trying to determine the line of best fit exactly .

This is because line of best fit only shows the trend of the data and in most cases it doesn't have to start from origin.

Scenarios :

i) For a scatter plot : The use of estimation by inspection

ii) For a straight line graph : The exact determination method