Born to be old? Is there a relationship between the gestational period (time from conception to birth) of an animal and its average life span? The figure shows a scatterplot of the gestational period and average life span for $43$ species of animals.

(a) Describe the direction, form, and strength of the scatterplot.

(b) Three “unusual” points are labeled on the graph: Point $A$ is for the hippopotamus, Point $B$ is for the giraffe, and Point $C$ is for the Asian elephant. In what way is each of these animals “unusual”?

A regression line is a straight line that depicts the change in a response variable $y$ when an explanatory variable $x$ changes. By putting this $x$ into the equation of the line, you may use a regression line to predict the value of $y$ for any value of $x$

The general pattern moves from bottom left to higher right, as shown in the graph. That is, animals with a longer gestation time have a longer life expectancy. There is a strong link between the two variables. The relationship has a somewhat curved shape. Overall, there is a reasonably strong relationship: animals with similar gestation times have about similar life lengths.

Direction: positive

Form: slightly curved

Strength: moderately strong.

The hippopotamus, giraffe, and Asian elephant are the three creatures that stand out in the scatterplot: point A for the hippopotamus, point B for the giraffe, and point C for the Asian elephant. These points are known as outliers because they deviate from the broader pattern.

Point $A$: unusual because of its high life span.

Point $B$: unusual because of the combination of a long gestation period and a low life span

Point $C$: unusual because of its high life span and its long gestation period