Question

Describe an association between two variables. Give a confounding variable that may help to account for this association. The total amount of beef consumed and the total amount of pork consumed worldwide are closely related over the past 100 years.

Short answer

The association between beef and pork consumption over the last century worldwide can be explained by rise in population increasing the demand for both commodities. The confounding variable here is the global population growth.

Step-by-step solution

Define the Association

The association between the total amount of beef consumed and the total amount of pork consumed worldwide over the past 100 years could be explained as follows: as the world population increases, the consumption of both beef and pork also increases. This is because higher population correlates with higher amounts of food consumption including beef and pork.

Identify Confounding Variable

A confounding variable in this scenario could be the global population growth over the past 100 years. This is because the increase in population naturally leads to increased consumption of food, including both beef and pork. Therefore, the increase in beef and pork consumption may not be directly related, but both are affected by the confounding variable, which is the increase in population.