Plants that grow on Swiss cliffs. A rare plant that grows on the limestone cliffs of the Northern Swiss Jura mountains was studied in Alpine Botany (Nov. 2012). The researchers collected data from a sample of 12 limestone cliffs. Several of the variables measured for each cliff included the altitude above sea level (meters), plant population size (number of plants growing), and molecular variance (i.e., the variance in molecular weight of the plants). These data are provided in the accompanying table. The researchers are interested in whether either altitude or population size is related to molecular variance.

a. Use a scatterplot to investigate the relationship between molecular variance and altitude. Do you detect a trend?

b. Use a scatterplot to investigate the relationship between molecular variance and population size. Do you detect a trend?

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Cliff Population Number Altitude Size Molecular Variance 123456789012 468 147 59.8 589 209 24.4 700 28 42.2 664 177 59.5 876 248 65.8 909 53 17.7 1032 33 12.5 952 114 27.6 832 217 35.9 1099 10 13.3 982 8 3.6 1053 15 3.2.