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Course: Digital SAT Math > Unit 7
Lesson 6: Scatterplots: mediumScatterplots | Lesson
A guide to scatterplots on the digital SAT
What are scatterplots?
A scatterplot displays data about two variables as a set of points in the
In this lesson, we'll learn to:
- Use the line of best fit to describe scatterplots
- Make predictions using the line of best fit
- Fit functions to scatterplots
This lesson builds upon the following skills:
- Data representations
- Graphs of linear equations and functions
- Quadratic graphs
- Exponential graphs
You can learn anything. Let's do this!
How do we talk about scatterplots?
Bivariate relationship linearity, strength and direction
What is the line of best fit?
Interpreting a trend line
The line of best fit
While each point in a scatterplot represents a specific observation, the line of best fit describes the general trend based on all of the points.
For a given data point, we expect to see a difference between its
We can also interpret the slope and
- The slope represents a constant rate of change.
- The
Try it!
How do I use the line of best fit to make predictions?
Line of best fit: smoking in 1945
Predicting what we can and cannot see
When making predictions based on scatterplots, always use the line of best fit instead of individual data points.
If the prediction lies within the part of the
If the prediction lies beyond the part of the
Try it!
How do I fit functions to scatterplots?
Use direction and intercepts to determine the best fit
On the SAT, questions that ask you to fit a function to a scatterplot are always multiple choice, and all four choices are usually functions of the same type, e.g., four linear functions or four quadratic functions.
For linear functions in the form
- Sketch a line that fits the data and approximate its slope.
- The value of
- Approximate the
For quadratic functions in the form
- Sketch a parabola and approximately fits the data.
- If the parabola opens upward,
- Approximate the
Try it!
Your turn!
Want to join the conversation?
In the last example we want to know the sign of the quadratic function. So let's suppose that this is the function : ax²+8x+c
First, we are going to find a :
You can see through the scatterplots above that as x increases, y decreases. That means that x is negative, right? (Ask me if you don't understand)
So we got a=-7 (not 7 because it is negative)
Now, let's find the c :
We know that c = y-intercepts
At x=0 , y= 300 (not -300)
So we have c=300
So the equation is y = -7x²+8x+300
I hope that help :)(119 votes)
where's 8x from please, and how did you find the slope??(8 votes)
I just want to draw straight lines like Sal does.(44 votes)- Same bro, same😞😌💔(1 vote)
- can someone help me with the potato chip question pls(11 votes)
Ok, so first we want to find the slope of the line of best fit. (Let me know if you need help with that). We find that the slope is 5/1. That means that the average rating goes up by 5 for every $1.00 increase.
Ok, great, but we need to find how much it goes up for every $0.10 increase.
Well, to get from $1.00 to $0.10 we divided by 10, right?
So now we need to divide 5 by 10. And we get 0.5
That means that for every $0.10 increase we get an 0.5 increase in average rating.
Does this help?(58 votes)
Guessing the line between the dots=frustrating(36 votes)
it's so subjective too it would never be on the SAT(1 vote)
Tell me if I’m wrong, but it can be broken down to two things on the SAT: a frown face is -ax^2 and a smile is ax^2 (I’m referring to the shape of the curve - frown 🙁negative and smile 🙂positive) and the y intercept is -c if below x axis and c if above.(21 votes)- Yeah, you understood it right!(0 votes)
how are we going to draw the line of best fit with a pc, please?(10 votes)- You won't have to draw a line of best fit on the dsat. You might have to choose between several graphs and pick which one is the best line of best fit, but you'll never have to actually draw one out.(10 votes)
- guys is it enough? for studying all lesson SAT in 2 months? I am geting test on November? T_T(6 votes)
- its a good thing to finish the sat courses on khan academy but it would be more beneficial if you practice and slove more
also you should do the full lengh tests on blue book(3 votes)
- The beard question in the quiz section almost killed me of laughter hahahahha(8 votes)
- Hahahaha sameee(0 votes)
- How can we formulate quadratic equations out of graphs? I don't think there has been a lesson regarding this till now(4 votes)
- We won't have to. We will have to choose between the options given to us, to find the quadratic equation most suitable to the scatterplot(4 votes)
- guys , how am i supposed to approach a Quadratic function to a scatterplot type of question? (the last example)(2 votes)
In the last example we want to know the sign of the quadratic function. So let's suppose that this is the function :ax²+8x+c
First, we are going to finda:
You can see through the scatterplots above that as x increases, y decreases. That means thatxis negative, right? (Ask me if you don't understand)
So we gota=-7(not 7 because it is negative)
Now, let's find thec:
We know that c = y-intercepts
At x=0 , y= 300 (not -300)
So we havec=300
So the equation is y = -7x²+8x+300
I hope that help :)(7 votes)
