A correlation coefficient is a statistic that tells the

• A. difference between the means of two variables
• B. strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables
• C. total variance in a single variable
• D. probability that two variables are independent

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that the correlation coefficient is a measure used in statistics to describe the relationship between two variables.
2. Recall that the correlation coefficient quantifies both the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two variables, not differences between means or variance of a single variable.
3. Recognize that the correlation coefficient ranges from -1 to 1, where values close to 1 or -1 indicate a strong linear relationship, and values near 0 indicate little to no linear relationship.
4. Note that the correlation coefficient does not measure probability or independence directly, but rather how closely two variables move together linearly.
5. Therefore, the correct interpretation of the correlation coefficient is that it measures the strength and direction of the linear relationship between two variables.