SAT Two-variable data: models and scatterplots Practice Question 12 (Medium) | SAT Owl

Question bank / Two-variable data: models and scatterplots

Math · Problem-Solving and Data AnalysisMedium

A scatterplot shows a positive linear association between $x$ and $y$ . The line of best fit predicts $y = 52$ when $x = 8$ . One of the data points in the scatterplot is $(8, 47)$ . Which of the following statements is true?

A

The data point lies $5$ units above the line of best fit.

B

The line of best fit underestimates the $y$ -value of this point by $5$ .

C

The line of best fit passes through this data point.

D

The line of best fit overestimates the $y$ -value of this point by $5$ .

Show answer and explanation

Answer: D

At $x = 8$ , the predicted value is $52$ and the actual value is $47$ . Since $52 - 47 = 5$ , the prediction is $5$ greater than the actual value. The line overestimates this point by $5$ , so the point lies $5$ units below the line.

Choice B reverses the direction: the prediction ( $52$ ) is higher than the actual value ( $47$ ), so it is an overestimate.

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