Which of the following best describes the appearance of a scatterplot that shows a strong positive linear relationship between two variables?

• A. The points cluster closely around a straight line that slopes downward from left to right.
• B. The points form a clear curve rather than a straight line.
• C. The points cluster closely around a straight line that slopes upward from left to right.
• D. The points are widely scattered with no apparent pattern.

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that a scatterplot visually represents the relationship between two variables by plotting data points on a coordinate plane.
2. Recall that a 'strong positive linear relationship' means as one variable increases, the other variable also increases in a consistent, linear manner.
3. Recognize that in such a scatterplot, the points will be tightly clustered around a straight line that slopes upward from left to right, indicating the positive association.
4. Contrast this with other options: a downward slope indicates a negative relationship, a curve indicates a nonlinear relationship, and widely scattered points indicate little to no relationship.
5. Therefore, the best description is that the points cluster closely around a straight line that slopes upward from left to right.