Question

question 3
1 pts
a sociologist is interested in exploring how two variables—number of aggressive behaviors exhibited per week and hours spent playing video games per week—are associated in a sample of elementary school students. as part of her exploration of this relationship, the sociologist constructs a scatterplot. which variable should the sociologist place on the x - axis?

hours spent playing video games, because this is the explanatory variable.

hours spent playing video games, because this is the response variable.

number of aggressive behaviors exhibited, because this is the explanatory variable.

number of aggressive behaviors exhibited, because this is the response variable.

in this case, the sociologist can place either variable on the x - axis.

Explanation:

In a scatterplot, the explanatory (independent) variable is typically placed on the x - axis. Here, hours spent playing video games is thought to potentially explain or influence the number of aggressive behaviors (the response variable). So we analyze each option:

• Option 1: "Hours spent playing video games, because this is the explanatory variable." This is correct. The sociologist is interested in seeing if hours of video games (explanatory) relates to aggressive behaviors (response). Explanatory variables go on the x - axis.
• Option 2: Says hours of video games is the response variable, which is wrong. Response variable is what is being explained, here it's aggressive behaviors.
• Option 3: Says number of aggressive behaviors is the explanatory variable, which is wrong as aggressive behaviors are the response (dependent) variable.
• Option 4: Says either can be placed, but in this context, we have a clear explanatory (video game hours) and response (aggressive behaviors) variable, so we don't choose either.

Answer:

A. Hours spent playing video games, because this is the explanatory variable.