Exploring Relationships between Two continuous Variables Answer Key for Minitab Lab

1.1 The data were collected at Kent Island in New Brunswick, Canada. The birds were Savannah Sparrows. The units for age are da s. 1.!.1 There are "## birds, of which, !$% are fe&ale and 1#% are &ale. 1.!.! The tarsus length variable is clearl skewed to the left and is not nor&all distributed 'as seen in the nor&al plot attached(. There are ) low outliers and one &issing value. The &ean value is 1*.*# &&, the &edian is !$.! && and the values range fro& 1+.) && to !!.* &&.

Probability Plot of Tarsus_ Length

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99.9 99 95 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 1 0.1

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Mean StDev N AD P-Value 19.98 1.311 388 3.031 <0.005

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19 20 21 Tarsus_ Length

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1.!." Band,I!$"1.+2%%1 Se. 3 /eight Tarsus,0ength 1+.1 4 /ing,0ength !%.$ 1ge 2

Created b 1nn Cannon, Cornell College and 5ose&ar 5oberts, Bowdoin College

1.!.%

Boxplot of Wing_ Length

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50 Wing_ Length

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Band,I!1!1.)%"!"

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/eight Tarsus,0ength 1#.% !1.!

/ing,0ength )).$

1ge !

!.! The correlation coefficient is r 6 $.++1 !.% The correlation coefficient is r 6 $.++1 in both cases. !.+ There is a positive relationship between weight and tarsus length. That is, as the bird gains weight, its tarsus length increases as well. The relationship is not negligible, but is also not particularl strong, with a correlation of $.++1. The correlation coefficient &easures the strength of the linear relationship between weight and tarsus length. ".1.1 The slope is appro.i&atel $.% &&7g. ".1.! The e8uation is tarsus length 6 1".+! 9 $.%1#* weight. ".1." 1".+! 9 $.%1#* '1+.1( 6 1*.#+ &&. This bird would lie on the regression line at . 6 1+.1 g. ".!.1 The points below the regression line also appear below $ on the residual plot. Those points above the regression line appear above $ on the residual plot. The residual plot &easures the vertical distance between the points and the regression line. ".!.! The residual plot see&s fairl scattered both above and below the .:a.is. This is good and our assu&ption of linearit is probabl ok.

Created b 1nn Cannon, Cornell College and 5ose&ar 5oberts, Bowdoin College

".".1 The relationship between weight and tarsus length is 8uite si&ilar for both &ale and fe&ale birds. The &ales have a slightl flatter slope, &eaning that the tarsus length doesn;t increase 8uite so &uch with each increase in weight. ".".! If we had used onl fe&ale birds to predict the tarsus length of our &issing observation, we would have predicted a slightl larger value of the tarsus length. %.1 The point see&s to be in the &iddle of the surrounding data values and should not change the correlation ver &uch. In fact the correlation including this point is $.++". %.! The new regression line is tarsus length 6 1".+! 9 $.%1## weight. So the new esti&ated tarsus length is 1*.#% &&. This tells &e that adding this particular outlier back into the data set does not affect the relationship between tarsus length and weight at all. %." This point does not call into 8uestion the linearit assu&ption. In fact, its residual is ver close to $, so the point falls al&ost e.actl on the regression line. %.% There is ver little effect to adding the outl ing bird to the regression using weight to e.plain tarsus length. The bird is clearl a t pical bird when looking at the relationship between tarsus length and weight.

Created b 1nn Cannon, Cornell College and 5ose&ar 5oberts, Bowdoin College