Fitting quadratic and exponential functions to scatter plots

The  exercise appears under the Probability and statistics Math Mission. This exercise fits curves to scatterplots, concentrating on linear, quadratic and exponential tendencies.

Types of Problems
There are three types of problems in this exercise:


 * 1) Choose the right model and apply it: This problem has two potential fits to a scatterplot. The student is asked to select which is the better fit, and then use is to answer a question that applies the model.Fqaeftsp1.png
 * 2) Select which type of model has the plots: This problem provides several plots of the same data with different axes. The student is asked to select which type of relationship is being modeled.Fqaeftsp2.png
 * 3) Determine which plot would be linear: This problem specifies that a relationship is of a certain type. The student is asked to select which type of plot would appear linear from a multiple choice list.Fqaeftsp3.png

Strategies
Knowledge of some of the advanced regression techniques would be useful to ensure accuracy and efficiency on this exercise.
 * 1) On the first problem type, choose the model (purple or green) that gets close to most of the points. Then plug the number given into model.
 * 2) Be careful about rounding as specified on the first problem type.
 * 3) A plot of the independent variable against the dependent variable (such as x against y) will provide the most clear intuition to the correct model.
 * 4) Plots with lines and x^2 or sqrt(x) are likely quadratic.
 * 5) Plots with lines and log(x) are likely exponential.

Real-life Applications

 * 1) In business, compound interest is exponential and supply demand relationships can often be quadratic.
 * 2) In biology, population growth is often exponential at certain stages.
 * 3) Modeling motion is often quadratic.

Catgeory:Probability and statistics exercises