The article Air Pollution and Medical Care Use by Older Americans (Health Affairs [2002]: 207 214) gave
Question:
a. If the goal is to learn how cost of medical care is related to pollution, which of these two variables is the response variable and which is the predictor variable?
b. Construct a scatterplot of these data. Describe any interesting features of the scatterplot.
c. Find the equation of the least squares regression line for predicting medical cost using pollution.
d. Is the slope of the least squares line positive or negative? Is this consistent with the scatter plot in Part (b)?
e. Do the scatterplot and the equation of the least squares regression line support the researchers conclusion that elderly people who live in more polluted areas have higher medical costs? Explain.
f. What is the predicted cost of medical care for a region that has a pollution measure of 35?
g. Would you use the least squares regression equation to predict cost of medical care for a region that has a pollution measure of 60? If so, what is the predicted cost of medical care? If not, explain why.
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