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What Is Correlation?
Correlation describes the degree of the linear relationship between two variables. 📈📉
Imagine you’re playing basketball 🏀, and you notice that the more you practice shooting free throws, the higher your accuracy becomes. That’s an example of a positive correlation between practice and accuracy. As the number of practice sessions increases, so does your accuracy.
On the other hand, if you notice that the more you eat junk food 🍔🍟, the lower your energy levels become, that’s an example of a negative correlation. As the number of junk food meals increases, your energy levels decrease.
📈 Positive correlation: as one variable increases, so does the other variable.
📉 Negative correlation: as one variable increases, the other variable decreases.
A correlation coefficient is a number that ranges from -1 to 1 and measures the strength and direction of the relationship between two variables.
📊 A correlation coefficient of 1 means there’s a perfect positive correlation (all values increase together).
📊 A correlation coefficient of -1 means there’s a perfect negative correlation (one value increases while the other decreases).
📊 A correlation coefficient of 0 means there’s no correlation between the variables.
For example, let’s say we study the correlation between the number of hours spent studying and the grade obtained in a test. A correlation coefficient of 0.8 suggests a strong positive correlation, while a correlation coefficient of -0.6 suggests a moderate negative correlation.
Understanding correlation can help us make better decisions and predict outcomes. 🧠🔮 So next time you notice a relationship between two variables, think about the correlation between them!