(a) The correlation between number of married residents and number of unemployed

Chapter 4, Problem 17

(choose chapter or problem)

(a) The correlation between number of married residents and number of unemployed residents in 2008 for the 50 states and Washington, DC, is 0.922. A scatter diagram of the data drawn in MINITAB is shown. What type of relation appears to exist between number of marriages and number unemployed?(b) A lurking variable is in the relation presented in part (a). Usethe following correlation matrix to explain how population isa lurking variable.Correlations: Unemployed,Population, Marriages Unemployed PopulationPopulation 0.979Marriages 0.922 0.947Cell Contents: Pearson correlation(c) The correlation between unemployment rate (numberunemployed divided by population size) and marriage rate(number married divided by population size) in 2008 for the50 states and Washington, DC, is 0.050. A scatter diagrambetween unemployment rate and marriage rate drawn inMINITAB is shown next. What type of relation appears toexist between unemployment rate and marriage rate?(d) Write a few sentences to explain the danger in usingcorrelation to conclude that a relation exists between twovariables without considering lurking variables.