Question

The “line of best fit” for a scatterplot is the line that __________.




A.

includes at least 3 data points in the data set


B.

is the smallest distance away from every point in the data set


C.

goes through the maximum and minimum data points of the data set with respect to the independent variable


D.

goes through the maximum and minimum data points of the data set with respect to the dependent variable

Answer 1

Oops. just re-read choice A which says the best fit includes at least 3 data points in the data set. Not necessary. You can have a best fit that does not contain any data point.

I suppose it is B then (reluctantly) even though "best fit" is also known as the "least square fit" which minimizes the sum of the squares of the distance which does not mean each and every point in the data set is the closest to the line.

I don't think the last two choices are true.