Fitting data

Fitting data. 1. Consult an almanac, newspaper, magazine, or the Internet toÿfind data that appear to lie approximately on or near aÿstraight line.ÿA few of the many free sources of data that might be appropriate to use are:http://data.worldbank.org/http://www.statcrunch.com/5.0/shareddata.php?keywords=DATAhttp://datacatalogs.org/http://data.gc.ca/eng2. Create a scatterplot and a line fitting the data in one of two ways:a. To do this activity by hand, create a scatterplot by plotting the (x, y) data in a Cartesian (rectangular) coordinate system. Then, draw a line that approximately fits the data in the scatterplot, and then write its equation as a function in slope-intercept form. An easier way, and one that produces better looking results, is to find the equation of the line for your data using this free, online linear regression calculator:ÿhttp://www.alcula.com/calculators/statistics/linear-regression/.b.ÿTo use the regression calculator:Enter your data, but without parentheses (ÿ ), in the empty data field at:ÿhttp://www.alcula.com/calculators/statistics/linear-regression/. For example, for my first point, I would type 1,5ÿnotÿthe usual ordered pair format of (1, 5).ÿÿWhen all of your data points are entered, click on the ?Submit Data? button. The line of best fitÿyÿ= mxÿ+ b for your data will be displayed, as will a figure showing aÿscatterplotof your data and the graph of yourÿline of best fit.ÿRight-click on the displayed figure of the scatterplot/graph and save it to your computer. Then, load it into the discussion box when you make your post. To do that, click on the image button in the palette of the discussion text-editor window. In that menu, you load the figure from your computer into your post.ÿ3. Also include a link to your data, along with an explanation of what the x and y axes represent in your graph.ÿTo gain full credit for your work, you must complete all the directions.

Fitting data