Question

activity sheet 1: using scatterplots in reports

1. the following graph illustrates the fact that for a designated filing status and taxable income level, the amount of tax owed depends on the number of children. does this sound like a cause-and-effect relationship or simply a matter of an association between the variables?

head of household
$50,000 taxable income
(before child deductions)
(graph: x-axis: number of children (0,1,2,3,4); y-axis: amount of tax owed (0 to 9000). data points as shown.)
(data compiled from 2007 tax tables for form 1040 on www.irs.gov.)

1. the graph shown below illustrates that in general older men have wives about their age and younger men have wives about their age. does this sound like a cause-and-effect relationship or simply a matter of an association between the variables?

husbands’ and wives’ ages
(graph: x-axis: husband’s age (0 to 45); y-axis: wife’s age (0 to 45). data points as shown.)

Explanation:

Question 8

Step1: Understand Cause - Effect vs Association

A cause - effect relationship means one variable directly causes a change in the other. An association means variables are related but one doesn't necessarily cause the other. Here, tax owed and number of children: tax laws (like child deductions) create a relationship, but the number of children doesn't "cause" tax owed in a direct causal sense (it's due to tax policy).

Step2: Analyze the Relationship

The amount of tax owed depends on number of children because tax codes have child - related deductions. But the number of children isn't a direct cause of tax owed (e.g., having a child doesn't inherently create tax; it's the tax system's rules). So it's an association (due to tax policy) rather than a pure cause - effect.

Step1: Understand Cause - Effect vs Association

A cause - effect relationship would mean a man's age causes his wife's age, which is not the case. The relationship (older men with older wives, younger with younger) is due to social, cultural, and personal preferences in mate selection, not a direct causal link.

Step2: Analyze the Relationship

The ages of husbands and wives are associated because people tend to marry those around their own age (social norms, shared life stages, etc.), not because one's age causes the other's age. So it's an association.

Answer:

It is a matter of an association between the variables (because the relationship is driven by tax policies regarding child deductions, not a direct causal link where the number of children causes the tax owed in a fundamental causal sense).

Question 9