ShmoopTube

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One shmoop or two?

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The following graph shows points representing the relationship between the amount of time

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spent walking per week and cholesterol levels of various people. 

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It’s also a pretty good diagram of what the red blood cells look

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like in those higher-cholesterol people…

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Based on the graph, which statement is most likely to be supported by the data?

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And here are the potential answers...

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Can we read a scatter plot? Well, that’s what it's asking anyway.

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Let’s go through the potential answers one by one.

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So A says “Cholesterol levels increase as the amount of time spent walking increases.”

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Well...if A were to be true, the dots would follow this kind of line like from the

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origin up and to the right about a 45 degree angle –

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yet here, we don’t see that at all… so A is false.

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B. “Cholesterol levels decrease as the amount of time spent walking increases.”

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Well B is sorta true – yes, they do decrease but not dramatically.

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We’re looking for the BEST answer here so let’s keep reading.

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C. “Cholesterol levels remain steady as the amount of time spent walking increases.”

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Hm – no – they definitely decline – just not all that much. So C is definitely false.

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OK… D. “There is no relationship between a person's cholesterol level and the amount

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of time spent walking per week.”

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D might be true… but it looks like there clearly is a pattern here – just not a dramatic one.

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If it was dramatic, the line would look like this…

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…and, well, our nation’s sidewalks might be more crowded.

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But ok, clearly the BEST answer is B.

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As in, “Bypass surgery.”

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