Two-variable data and scatterplots
- Course
- Problem-Solving and Data Analysis
- Question type
- Two-variable data: models and scatterplots
- Practice
- 6 practice questions
- Language
- Vietnamese · English
About this lesson
Two-variable data on the SAT: reading scatterplots and the direction of an association, the line of best fit, interpreting a model's slope and intercept, making predictions, residuals, and choosing a linear or exponential model from a table.
On the Digital SAT, two-variable data is a Problem-Solving and Data Analysis skill that usually comes with a scatterplot or a table and the equation of a line of best fit. You may be asked for a predicted value, the meaning of the slope or intercept in context, the residual of one data point, or which model best fits the data.
These questions need little arithmetic, but points slip away through wording: choosing a statement that treats a prediction as certain, reversing the order of a residual, reading an association as cause and effect, or confusing steady growth with growth by a constant factor. This lesson shows how to read each part of a model, the exact phrasing the SAT uses when interpreting coefficients, and how to check differences and ratios to pick a model. It ends with 6 self-graded practice questions, each with a full explanation.
What you'll learn
- Describe the direction, form and strength of an association in a scatterplot.
- Predict with a line of best fit and interpret its slope and intercept.
- Compute residuals in the right order: actual minus predicted.
- Choose a linear or exponential model from consecutive differences and ratios.
Lesson contents
- Lesson goals
- 1. Reading a scatterplot
- Key terms
- 2. Using a line of best fit
- 3. Residuals
- 4. Linear or exponential?
- 5. Common traps
- 6. Speed strategies
This lesson is part of HOCSAT Learn
Every course has one free trial lesson. A Learn plan unlocks all lessons, practice questions and explanations.