Question

The following exercises are based on the following sample data consisting of numbers of enrolled students (in thousands) and numbers of burglaries for randomly selected large colleges in a recent year (based on data from the New York Times).

If you had computed the value of the linear correlation coefficient to be 1.500, what should you conclude?

Short answer

It can be concluded that there is an error in the calculation.

Step-by-step solution

Given information

The table representing the number of enrolled students (in thousands) and the number of burglaries for randomly selected large colleges in recent years is provided.

The value of \(r{\rm{ is }}1.500\).

Draw inference from the correlation coefficient measure

The value of r lies between –1 and 1 inclusive, where the negative sign represents an indirect relationship. Also, the magnitude of 1 represents a perfect and linear relationship.

This implies that the value of r cannot be 1.500.

In conclusion, there must be an error in the calculation.