Question

allison has a part - time job at an ice skating rink selling hot cocoa. she decided to plot the number of hot cocoas she sold relative to the days high temperature and then draw the line of best fit. what does the lines y - intercept represent?

answer
the actual number of hot cocoas sold when the temperature is 0°f.
the actual temperature when 0 hot cocoas are sold.
a prediction of the temperature when 0 hot cocoas are sold.
a prediction of the number of hot cocoas sold when the temperature is 0°f.

Explanation:

The line of best fit is a regression line used for prediction. The y - intercept of a line \(y = mx + b\) (where \(x\) is the independent variable, here temperature, and \(y\) is the dependent variable, here number of hot - cocoas sold) is the value of \(y\) when \(x = 0\). Since it is a line of best fit (not a line that passes through all data points), it is a prediction. When \(x = 0\) (temperature \(x = 0^{\circ}F\)), \(y\) (number of hot - cocoas sold) is predicted by the y - intercept of the line of best fit.

Answer:

A prediction of the number of hot cocoas sold when the temperature is \(0^{\circ}F\).