Question

stem and leaf agriculture wants to add a new compound to its bags of sunflower fertilizer. the company produced several bags containing varying amounts of the compound to see how it would affect sunflower growth.
next, stem and leaf collected data on the amount of the compound added to each bag (in grams), x, and the weekly growth of the sunflowers treated with each bag (in centimeters), y.
the correct least squares regression line for the data set is:
y = 0.278x - 14.229
use it to complete the following sentence:
if stem and leaf agriculture increased the amount of the compound by one gram per bag, the least squares regression line predicts that the sunflowers would grow centimeters more per week.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the slope interpretation in regression

In a linear regression equation \( y = mx + b \), the slope \( m \) represents the change in \( y \) for a one - unit change in \( x \).

Step2: Identify the slope from the given equation

The given least - squares regression line is \( y=0.278x - 14.229 \). Here, the slope \( m = 0.278 \). This means that for each one - gram increase in the amount of the compound (\( x \) increases by 1), the predicted weekly growth of sunflowers (\( y \)) increases by 0.278 centimeters.

Answer:

0.278