GCSE Maths – Statistics
Scatter Graphs
Worksheet
NOTES SOLUTIONS
This worksheet will show you how to work out different types of scatter graph
questions. Each section contains a worked example, a question with hints
and then questions for you to work through on your own.
This work by PMT Education is licensed under [Link]
[Link] CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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Section A
Worked Example
Below is a graph of the scores of a class on an English Literature and English
Language exam. Draw a line of best fit and identify the type of correlation.
Step 1: Draw a line between the points, so that there are approximately the same number of points
lying either side of the line.
The line of best fit should only span the data range and ignore any anomalies.
Step 2: Identify the type and strength of correlation by looking at the gradient of the line of best fit,
and how many points lie on it.
The gradient of the line of best fit is positive, so the correlation is positive.
Most of the points are not on the line of best fit, so the correlation can be described as
weak.
The graph shows a weak positive correlation between the scores on the English
Language exam and the scores on the English Literature exam.
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Guided Example
A college begins to track the attendance of its students; below is a graph of the
results against the score they achieved on their final exam. Draw a line of best fit
on the graph and describe the correlation.
Step 1: Draw a line between the points, which goes through as many of the points as possible
and has roughly the same number of points either side of it. Ignore anomalies.
Step 2: Identify the type of correlation by looking at the gradient of the line of best fit and identify
the strength of the correlation by looking at how many points lie on the line.
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Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.
1. On the following scatter graphs, draw the line of best fit and describe the correlation.
Circle any anomalies.
a)
b)
c)
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Section B
Worked Example
A small business has been tracking how effective its
marketing strategy is. They have made a graph of the
number of hours spent on marketing and the number
of clients gained, which is pictured below. If the
employees spend a total of two hours in a week on
marketing, how many clients can they expect to gain?
Step 1: Draw a line of best fit on the graph.
Step 2: Draw a vertical line from 2 hours on the 𝑥𝑥-axis to the line of best fit.
Step 3: Draw a horizontal line across to the 𝑦𝑦-axis to estimate how many clients gained from two
hours of marketing.
The value read from the 𝑦𝑦-axis rounds to 5 clients
gained in a week.
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Guided Example
Below is a graph of students’ chemistry and biology scores on a quiz. Using the
graph, predict what Clara will score on the biology quiz if she scores 15 on the
chemistry quiz?
Step 1: Draw a line of best fit on the graph.
Step 2: Draw a line from Clara’s score on the 𝑥𝑥 axis to the line of best fit.
Step 3: Draw a line across from where the two drawn lines intersect to the 𝑦𝑦-axis, and proceed to
read off the Biology score.
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Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.
2. A small film company makes a graph of the money spent and made from each
feature film it has produced. If the company spends £1000 making a film, how much
can they expect to make from it?
3. In an amateur darts competition, during the practice run, the organisers record the
distance each turn is taken, and the score achieved. If a person stands 1.5m from the
dart board, estimate what they will score.
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Section C
Worked Example
The graph shows the number of times a person has gone
running in a week and the number of times they visited the
doctor that year. If I go running 16 times in a week, how
many times can I expect to see the doctor over a year?
Comment on the reliability of your estimate.
Step 1: Draw a line of best fit on the graph, ignoring the anomaly at (2,12).
Step 2: Draw a line at 𝑥𝑥 = 16 for the average number of runs on the 𝑥𝑥 axis to the line of best fit.
Draw a line across to the 𝑦𝑦 −axis, to estimate how many visits to the doctors I can expect.
If I go on 16 runs weekly, I can expect to see the doctor twice.
Step 3: Decide whether you have used interpolation or extrapolation to evaluate the reliability of
the estimate.
The value of 16 runs is beyond the data range, which, as we can tell from the graph, is 0 to
10 runs. So, we have extrapolated, which means the estimate is not very reliable.
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Guided Example
Below is a graph of students’ chemistry and biology scores on a quiz. Using the
graph, predict what Peter will score on the chemistry quiz if she scores 18 on the
biology quiz? How reliable is your prediction?
Step 1: Draw a line of best fit on the graph.
Since Peter’s score exceeds the data range, make sure to extend the line beyond the data
points.
Step 2: Draw a line from Peter’s score on the 𝑦𝑦-axis to the line of best fit.
Step 3: Draw a line across from where the two drawn lines intersect to the 𝑥𝑥-axis and proceed to
read off the chemistry score.
Step 4: Decide whether you have used interpolation or extrapolation to evaluate the reliability of the
estimate.
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Now it’s your turn!
If you get stuck, look back at the worked and guided examples.
4. This scatter graph shows the number of visitors to a theme park and the average wait
time for rides per day. Predict how long the wait time will be when a record number of
200 people visit the theme park in one day.
5. A scientist has devised a quantitative method of measuring tiredness which gives
subjects a score out of 5.
The scientist tests his measure out and creates a scatter graph of participants'
scores against how many hours of sleep they have per night. Using the graph,
predict how many hours of sleep someone with a score of 3 gets per night. Comment
on the reliability of the prediction.
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