Question

A national consumer magazine reported the following correlations. The correlation between car weight and car reliability is -0.8. The correlation between car weight and annual maintenance cost is 0.6. According to this information, which of the following statements are true? I. Heavier cars tend to be less reliable. II. Heavier cars tend to cost more to maintain. III. Car weight is related more strongly to reliability than to maintenance cost.

Answer 1

I, II, and III are true.

Explanation:

I. A correlation of -0.8 (negative) between weight and reliability means that the heavier the car, the less reliable it will be. Therefore, the statement is true.

II. A correlation of 0.6 (positive) between weight and maintenance means that the heavier the car, the higher the costs will be. Therefore, the statement is true.

III. Since the absolute value of the correlation between weight and reliability is higher than the absolute value of the correlation between weight and maintenance cost (0.8 > 0.6), weight is more strongly related to reliability than to maintenance cost. The statement is true.