Archaeologists often find only parts of ancient human remains. For example, they may find a small finger bone, called the metacarpal bone. Is it possible to predict the height of a human from the length of a metacarpal bone? To investigate, a researcher measures the heights and metacarpal lengths of 200 adults. In making the scatterplot, the researcher should:
A)plot the height of the person on the horizontal axis.
B)plot the metacarpal length on the horizontal axis.
C)first determine if the heights of humans follow a Normal distribution.
D)use a plotting scale that makes the overall trend roughly linear.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In order to investigate the relationship between metacarpal length and height, it is important to plot metacarpal length on the horizontal axis. This allows us to visualize how the length of the bone relates to the height of the person. Additionally, it is not necessary to determine if the heights follow a Normal distribution for this type of analysis. Lastly, using a linear scale for the plot is important to accurately show the overall trend between the variables.

Archaeologists Often Find Only Parts of Ancient Human Remains