Respond
Understanding Correlation
- Complete this sentence about the main idea of the article in the journal of Bioelectromagnetics. Professor Abramson found in his study that _________________________________.
- Reggie’s dad says that Reggie is impulsive because his brain isn’t connected to his body. What does the word impulsive mean in this use?
- A) doing things quickly
- B) doing things repetitively, or time after time
- C) acting without thinking things through
- D) doing physical things that don’t require much thinking
- Professor Abramson wanted to find out if students who used their phones a lot behaved impulsively, so he observed students who texted at least 20 times per week or called at least 15 times per week. When Reggie heard this, he said, “Twenty times per week is nothing! My BFFs text way more.” Can you restate Reggie’s point in more scientific language?
Reread this part of the Science Scene, when Giselle explained to Reggie what a correlation is:
Giselle: Kind of, but not necessarily tied together like a cause and effect. They just happen at the same time. Kind of like: I grew taller this week, and my hair grew longer, but growing taller didn’t cause my hair to grow longer. They both happen together, but some other reason causes both of them to happen. According to my mom, that reason is eating disgusting vegetables like broccoli.
Here are two more examples of correlations:
- People who eat yogurt every day weigh less than people who don’t eat yogurt every day.
- People who are taller earn more money.
Write some more correlations you think may be true.
