Question

use the given x - y scatter plot to answer the following questions
a. is body mass index (bmi) the x or y variable?
b. moving from left to right, which point (first, second, third, etc.)
has coordinates (112, 20.8)?
c. if someone is 5 feet 4 inches tall and they weigh 165 pounds,
estimate their bmi. is it closer to 30, 33, or 38?
a. is bmi the x or y variable? choose the correct answer
y variable

Explanation:

• For part a, in a scatter - plot, the label on the y - axis gives the variable for the y - values. The plot is labeled "BMI for 5 feet 4 inches" with the y - axis labeled "BMI", so BMI is the y - variable.
• For part b, in a scatter - plot, when moving from left to right (increasing x - values), we check the x - coordinate (the first number in the ordered pair). The x - axis is likely weight (since for a fixed height of 5 feet 4 inches, weight and BMI are related). If we assume the x - axis is weight (in pounds) and we look for the point with \(x = 112\) (weight) and \(y=20.8\) (BMI), we count the points from the left.
• For part c, we locate \(x = 165\) (weight in pounds) on the x - axis and then find the corresponding y - value (BMI). We compare the height of the point above \(x = 165\) with the y - axis values (10, 20, 30).

Answer:

a. y variable
b. Second (assuming a standard left - to - right count of points where the first point has the smallest x - value)
c. Closer to 30 (by visual inspection of the scatter - plot for \(x = 165\))