A correlation measures and describes the linear relationship between two variables. The relationship is described using a +/- and a numerical value. Define what each indicates about the relationship. Give an example of two variables that seem to be related, and thus have a correlation, but have nothing to do with each other.
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The +/- sign in a correlation indicates the direction of the relationship. A positive correlation means that as one variable increases, the other also increases, and as one decreases, the other also decreases. For example, the more time you spend studying, the higher your grades tend to be.
A negative correlation, on the other hand, means that as one variable increases, the other decreases, and vice versa. For example, the more time you spend watching TV, the lower your grades tend to be.
The numerical value of the correlation indicates the strength of the relationship. The closer the number is to +1 or -1, the stronger the relationship. A correlation of +1 indicates a perfect positive relationship, -1 indicates a perfect negative relationship, and 0 indicates no relationship at all.
An example of two variables that seem to be related, but have nothing to do with each other, is the number of films Nicolas Cage appeared in a year and the number of people who drowned by falling into a pool. These two variables have a high correlation, but it's unlikely that Nicolas Cage's film career has any effect on pool drownings. This is an example of a spurious correlation, where two variables appear to be related but are not causally linked.
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