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GCSE Statistics · key term
The tendency for two numerical variables to vary together, shown by the pattern of points on a scatter diagram.
Used by Edexcel
Specification 2e.01, 2e.03 · Paper 1, Paper 2
Revise: Correlation vocabularyCorrelation describes how two numerical variables tend to vary together. Read a scatter diagram from left to right, so that the x-variable increases.
An association between two variables, where changes in one tend to accompany changes in the other.
Describe correlation using the variables in the question: ‘As car age increases, car value tends to decrease’, rather than just ‘one goes up and the other goes down’.
A correlation alone does not prove that one variable causes the other to change.
Do more than write ‘correlation does not necessarily imply causation’: name a plausible background factor and explain how it could affect both variables.
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