Exam-style question
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A scatter diagram shows positive correlation between two variables. What limitation must be stated? Show your working one step at a time.
Model answer
What a good answer should say
- The final answer is correlation does not imply causation.
- Identify the pattern as positive correlation or association.
- A correlation describes how two variables vary together.
- The association alone does not prove that one variable causes the other.
This answer is tied to the objective: L2 Interpret scatter diagrams and regression lines for bivariate data, including recognition of scatter diagrams with distinct sections of the population; understand informal interpretation of correlation; understand that correlation does not imply causation; calculations involving regression lines are excluded..
Explanation
Why this works
Use the explanation to connect the worked answer back to L2 Interpret scatter diagrams and regression lines for bivariate data, including recognition of scatter diagrams with distinct sections of the population; understand informal interpretation of correlation; understand that correlation does not imply causation; calculations involving regression lines are excluded..
exam warm-up keeps the canonical answer correlation does not imply causation fixed before the model answer is written, so the worked solution and final answer agree.
Maths method check
- Topic focus: Statistics.
- Question style: exam_style.
- Reasoning demand: recall.
- Check the operation, notation, units, and final answer form against the question before moving on.
Common mistake
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