alleryStart learning →The scatter plot and the residuals plot are read differently: the scatter plot should look linear while the residuals plot should look:
AWholly linear
BWholly curved
CJust identical
DWholly random
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Wholly random
1. Both plots are made from the same data but answer different questions.
2. The scatter plot asks whether a straight-line relationship exists at all.
3. While a scatter plot of the data should resemble a straight line, a residuals plot should appear random, with no pattern and no outliers.
4. The residuals plot asks whether the fitted line has left anything systematic behind.
5. Seeing the same shape in both would defeat the purpose of drawing the second one.
_Source: OpenStax Introductory Statistics 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 12 'Linear Regression and Correlation', sections 12.1-12.6_
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